United Kingdom Prime Minister David Cameron vowed to "fight back" to crush the unrest that spread to central and northern cities from London, even as the focus on checking violence on Wednesday night shifted to Birmingham, where the killing of three Asian-origin men generated racial tensions.
Manchester too saw a London-style heavy police presence. Tensions led to early closure of shops and offices amidst fears of renewed violence, reports from the city said.
Vowing not to allow "a culture of fear" to take over the streets, Cameron said water cannons -- never used in mainland UK -- would now be made available to police, apart from plastic bullets, to deal with violence after four nights of rioting and looting by hooded youths who ransacked stores and torched vehicles.
The police and the law enforcement agencies would not be short of resources and would have the full backing of the state behind them, he said, announcing "We needed a fight back and a fight back is under way."
Authorities maintained the police strength of 16,000 in London, which has so far led to an uneasy calm. The courts were working all out to deal with the nearly 800 individuals arrested over the last four days no one had been granted bail so far.
Reports from Birmingham said there was intense anger among the Asian community as leader tried to calm passions. There is a history of clashes between the Asians and Afro-Caribbean communities in Birmingham, the last being in 2005.
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