London in flames, deputy leaders to the front!

As the news spread round the world you could hear the sound of American telephone receivers being picked up and travel plans to London cancelled.

The all-important American tourist market is more important than ever as Britain's economy is on the slide.  It's a market that's very sensitive.  Americans don't like to travel somewhere that does not appear safe. Like most people.

Before anyone leaps to their keyboard and says, "wait a minute, this is about one part of London, the rest is untouched".  Really?  The efforts of the authorities today seem aimed at stopping the violence spreading.  As I write, disorder has broken out in the Hackney district and the fashionable Westfield shopping centre in Shepherds Bush (home of Tiffanys, De Beers, Louis Vuitton etc) is having giant metal barriers erected around it.

In the run up to the Olympics in London in 2012, this is not only a tragedy for those innocent citizens who have been affected by the riots, it is a PR disaster for the capital.

For those abroad, here is the story in a nutshell.

Tottenham is in North London.Tottenham has a history of riots. In 1985, it was the scene of the worst inner-city riots in Britain's history and during these riots, PC Keith Blakelock was hacked to death by knives and blades.

PC Keith Blakelock, murdered in 1985

On Thursday, police officers from Operation Trident, which targets gun crime in London, are alleged to have shot and killed Mark Duggan, a 29 year old, in Tottenham. It is reported he was carrying a gun. It is not clear how this happened but early evidence suggests, reports The Times newspaper,  that the police fired the shots.


The family of Mr Duggan feel aggrieved at his death and the lack of apparent information about how he died (this is because it is already the subject of an automatic serious investigation by the Police Complaints Authority).  On Saturday, the family held a peaceful vigil, which was hijacked by criminals who set about a night of rioting, arson and looting.  The riots were partly organised through social media and instant messaging.Shops were broken into and looted.   Even a kettle from a local barber's shop was stolen.  Historic buildings which survived the London Blitz were set alight and destroyed.  Local residents had to abandon their homes and run, - some with babies and young children in their arms - for their lives as the rioters approached.   Large number of police attended, but because this level of violence was not anticipated they had to concentrate on protecting the other emergency services - fire and ambulance - who were in danger of attack.


There was more rioting last night, this time met with huge numbers of police.


If you are having a moment of disbelief, this is London. 2011. One of the most sophisticated cities in the world.


So how have the authorities, and the media responded to this crisis for the capital?


In Britain, when something goes wrong, it is the default position of the media to blame the police.


An armed man is shot in an area with a reputation for extraordinary violence against police.  Large numbers of criminals provoke riots and industrial scale looting and destruction and place people in fear of their lives.


Who do the media blame for this?  Step forward the police.  The officers, facing cuts in their pensions and working conditions under government plans, should have had the ability to see into the future, predict the violence and stop it.   A bit like how the media predicted the trouble at News International or the global economic collapse.  That sort of predictive ability.


The problem is that in the midst of all this, the police have no-one to speak for them.  The able Metropolitan Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner Steve Kavanagh gave an interview to Britain's biggest news programme this morning, the Today show.  He accepted they had not predicted the level of violence, but said there were no signs of it (otherwise of course they would have acted). Last night they had three times the number of officers on duty. The police were in control of the streets of London.


The Met has a PR problem.  The Met Commissioner, Britain's most senior police officer, has resigned in the wake of disquiet over the close relationship between the police and News International. There is a vacuum at the top.

When tragedy hit Oslo, the Norwegian Prime Minister was immediately there, showing leadership.

But defending the police on the programme was not the Mayor of London, Boris Johnston, but the Deputy Mayor, Kit Malthouse, who did a good job, but he's not the Mayor.  Mr Malthouse rightly said that had the police swamped the area with officers on Saturday, they would have been accused of being heavy handed and provoking riots. In other words, they can't win.  And, he implies,we should support them.

But the Mayor of London was not there. He is on holiday, like the Home Secretary Theresa May. Both fly back.  There is some criticism of the Mayor that he is slow to respond and get on a plane.

A crisis needs leaders.  Not deputy leaders.  And they need to bolster up the institutions they lead, in this case the police. The Prime Minister and Home Secretary have already issued strong statements of the kind that are needed.

In a crisis a leader is needed. They need to make reassuring statements that promote calm amongst the public.  They also need to exhibit quiet resolve to address public anger, not least amongst the innocent victims.

Then, they need to outline an action plan to deal with the issue. First on this list would be vocal support for the police who need to be completely released from public relations duties to focus on public order issues.

If ever London needed Mr Johnston's gifts, it is now.  London needs their leader.