UK riots: Cracks between politicians, police

Police officers of all ranks turned on the government angrily rejecting claims by ministers that it was only the intervention of politicians that helped get a grip on the riots hitting English cities.Tim Godwin, the acting commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, took a swipe at people who werent there making judgements about Scotland Yards handling of the lawlessness – thought to be a reference to politicians who delayed returning from their holidays to deal with the crisis. He was backed by Sir Hugh Orde, another contender for the commissionership, who insisted that the crucial decision to draft 16,000 officers into the capital was taken by senior police officers – and not by the Prime Minister or Theresa May, the Home Secretary, as they had suggested.A senior source said the Prime Minister had to be talked down from putting the Army on the streets of London at a meeting of the national emergency committee Cobra. Another described him as idiotic. It comes as a poll for The Independent found that nearly half the public has lost confidence in David Camerons leadership in the wake of the rioting. The survey by ComRes also found that more than two-thirds of the public are opposed to his plans to cut police numbers.