London tackles gangs six months after UK riots

Six months after Britain was struck by five nights of rioting, London police launched a major crackdown on streets gangs which politicians blamed for the country's worst disorder for decades.    

London's new police chief, installed in the job in the wake of last August's riots, said a new police unit was carrying out raids on Wednesday on some of the 250 gangs accused of carrying out much of the city's most serious and violent crime.    

"This is a step change in how we tackle gang crime in London," said Metropolitan Police (Met) Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe. "It will allow us to identify and relentlessly pursue the most harmful gangs and gang members."    

Last August, the shooting by armed police of a man in the deprived area of Tottenham, northeast London, sparked rioting and looting which spread across the city and to other urban areas in the country, leaving five dead and scores injured.    

The violence ended only when police flooded the streets with officers. Prime Minister David Cameron and other ministers blamed criminality and the growth of youth gangs, although others said inequality and the government's austerity measures and massive public spending cuts were also responsible.