Tottenham MP Calls For BBM Suspension


MP David Lammy and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg in Tottenham
(Stefan Rousseau – AFP/Getty Images)

On Twitter, Tottenham Member of Parliament and former Labour minister, David Lammy tweeted that BlackBerry should suspend its UK messaging service because of on going riots in England. About 37% of young people in the UK are BlackBerry smartphone users and most of the riots were allegedly planned on social networks e.g., BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) system and Twitter. The proposed suspension of BBM is expected to reduce violent disorder, criminality and communication between rioters. BlackBerry UK tweeted that it has 'engaged with the authorities to assist in any way' it can.

Tottenham riot occurred last Saturday after the death of Mark Duggan last Thursday in a police shooting. Rioters went on rampage in other London suburbs like Enfield, Walthamstow, Oxford Circus, Brixton, Islington and Edmonton the following day. Yesterday, riots also occurred outside London; in Birmingham, Liverpool and Bristol. Some properties were vandalized, looted and set alight.

Disturbances erupted in London suburbs e.g., Hackney, Lewisham, Peckham, Clapham, Ealing, Woodford Green and Croydon. House of Reeves was torched in Croydon. It was sad to see a business of 144 years 'destroyed'. Some entrepreneurs also lost their businesses to arsonists and looters in different parts of the country. An unnamed 26 year old man that was allegedly shot in his car during the Croydon riot died in hospital today. Over '500' people have been arrested and 'all London police cells are full'.

The Prime Minister David Cameron condemned the riots and also visited Croydon today while the Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg went to Tottenham yesterday. The Metropolitan police told parents to keep their children indoors yet the rampage continued. Destruction of properties could make specific areas look like ghettos.

The former Mayor of London Ken Livingstone ‘condemned the violence’ and blamed the extended riots on government spending cuts. He said a lot of the young rioters are criminals that have no one caring for them but they need to be given opportunity and hope. The interviewer accused him of using the BBC interview to campaign for the 2012 London mayoral election as a candidate.

Some innocent people, especially those that lived in flats above shops are homeless because their homes were engulfed by fire. The Home Secretary Theresa May has ruled out the use of water cannon by the police on rioters. In Peckham, some rioters attacked the police with stolen fireworks.

On TV, people complained of lack of police presence in some arrears while looters were looting shops. In Ealing, the police were powerless and had to stand aside while 'criminals' broke into stores because there were more rioters than they could handle. It must be emphasized that not all police officers are 'trained' to face rioters. Nevertheless, the number of police officers 'on the streets will rise from 6,000 to 16,000 this evening'.

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One Reply to “Tottenham MP Calls For BBM Suspension”

  1. Hello tere!Well they not going to stops any messangers but they going to check all the messages and trackkingall from uk

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