Cameron vows to crush riots; 16,000 cops deployed

In a rare decision, Cameron called an emergency day-long session of the parliament on Thursday to discuss the situation and steps to defuse the crisis following three days of "sickening" rioting on the streets of London.

Talking tough, the Prime Minister, who rushed home after cutting short his vacation in Italy, said the culprits will be brought to bear the consequences of their actions and the government was determined to see that justice is delivered to the law abiding citizens.

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"People should be in no doubt that we'll do everything necessary to restore order to British streets, and to make them safe for the law abiding," Cameron said making a statement after chairing a meeting of government's emergency response committee.

"And I have this very clear message to those people who are responsible for this wrongdoing and criminality: you will feel the full force of the law and if you are old enough to commit these crimes you are old enough to face punishment".

Determined to prevent a fourth night of violence, Cameron ordered deployment of 16,000 police officers on the streets of London and cancelled the leaves of officers to maintain law and order.

Cameron termed the scenes witnessed on the streets of London and elsewhere as "appalling" and driven by "criminality" and admitted that more police presence and more robust police action was required.

Rioting and looting that started on Saturday, sparked by Thursday night's death of Duggan, spread across London, and also flared up in the central city of Birmingham, the western city of Bristol and the northwestern city of Liverpool.

Another person, who was shot in his car during last night's rioting in Croydon died after being admitted to hospital, police said. He was discovered in a car suffering from gunshot wounds at about 9.15 pm as trouble flared in the area.

Police said over 500 people have been arrested so far as additional reinforcements poured into the capital from police forces across Britain.

Three people are being questioned on suspicion of attempted murder after a police officer was injured by a car in Wembley, north-west London, while trying to stop suspected looters.

Cameron said many more people responsible for the violence are certain to be rounded up in the coming days, as he took charge of the uneasy situation that has blighted Britain's image across the world after 72 hours of looting and rioting.

The police have announced that if required, on Tuesday night they will use rubber bullets to deal with the situation.

As images of cars, buses and property going up in flames were broadcast around the world, questions were raised about the city's ability to host the 2012 Olympics, while commentators in China and Iran appeared to lecture to Britain on ways to deal with the situation on the streets of London.

No major incidents were reported in London on Tuesday, but Greenwich joined Hackney, Ealing and Camberwell on the list of possible targets for tonight. In many areas, shops and offices were closed earlier than usual.

Cameron visited Croydon, which was the scene of a blaze in a century-old furniture shop yesterday, apart from burning of cars and looting.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg was heckled and told to "go home" during a visit to Birmingham, while London mayor Boris Johnson was aggressively heckled in Clapham Junction in London.

In many areas in London, Bristol, Nottingham, Birmingham and Leeds, residents had started cleaning up operations, along with local officials.

Besides Cameron, London mayor Boris Johnson and Labour leader Ed Miliband also cut short their holiday and returned to London on Tuesday.

Acting Commissioner Tim Godwin, meanwhile, ruled out bringing in the Army to help police tackle the violence, but said: "We will be out there in ever greater numbers tonight."

Authorities also said the spiralling riots will not affect the third cricket Test between India and England that is scheduled to be held at Edgbaston, from Wednesday.

On the third night of riots in London, gangs of masked youth looted shops, attacked police officers and set fire to vehicles, reminding many of racial unrest in the 1980s.

Clashes in Hackney -- one of the five boroughs in which the 2012 Olympics will be held -- between police and groups of youths were shown live through helicopter cameras, besides at least one car set on fire on the third night of violence.

Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) said widespread looting, several incidents of fire and disorder had made Monday night the "worst" in "current memory" for it.

The MPS said: "We have been making arrests all evening and have a team working during the night examining CCTV images. We will follow up evidence in the coming days in order to bring anyone else responsible for criminal acts to justice".