Prime Minister David Cameron vowed Wednesday to end the "despicable" violence on the country's streets as he hinted at the first possible usage of water cannon against rioters in Britain, DPA reported.
"We needed a fightback and the fightback has begun," Cameron said after a crisis meeting of the government Cobra emergency committee.
He said contingency plans were in place for water cannon to be available at 24 hours' notice. Their use would be the first ever on the British mainland. Cameron's tough words followed a night of intense rioting in cities including Manchester, Birmingham, and Liverpool, while London remained quiet following a police clampdown.
"This continuing violence will be stopped. We will not allow a culture of fear to exist on our streets," said Cameron.
He linked the unprecedented outbreak of looting, arson and rioting of recent days to Britain's "big problem with gangs" which had no respect for authority and felt they were not responsible for their actions.