The police have been busy defending themselves this weekend against any criticism of their
performance. They aim to stop elected politicians from making any comment on their performance. But David Cameron should not—and must not—back down from both his criticism of police
tactics and his conviction that the force urgently needs reforming.
The truth is that the initial police response to the riots was hopelessly inadequate. If senior police officers really do think that the Met’s performance on Saturday, Sunday and Monday was adequate, then that in and of itself makes the case for reform. Losing control of the streets in sections of the capital is a failure. As one senior minister said to me yesterday, if Sir Hugh Orde wants the police to take the credit for the success of the police operation on Tuesday night, then the police must also take the blame for the ineptitude of the police response on the first three nights of looting.
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