Looter who started the infamous Croyden fire during last August's riots, which resulted in the destruction of the iconic 144-year old, family-run Reeves furniture shop, causing damages of £3m, has been jailed for 11-and-a-half years

BBC News video - 2011 Croydon riots arson case: Trevor and Graham Reeves comment on the sentencing of Gordon Thompson and losing the town icon - 'Losing shop like a bereavement' April 11, 2012. http://youtu.be/hrZH5dAA3tg


Gordon Thompson, the looter who started the infamous Croyden fire during last early August's riots in England, which resulted in the destruction of the iconic 144-year old, family-run House of Reeves furniture shop, causing damages of £3m, has been jailed for 11-and-a-half years.
No word on whether he will be prosecuted for the two fires he started at other stores before setting a sofa afire at the House of Reeves shop in south London, which consists of a series of shops on the block.


This is the logical follow-up to my August 9th post of last year, titled, Listening to BBC's 5 live Breakfast reports LIVE from Croyden reporting on rioting aftermath; www.riotcleanup.co.uk

http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2011/08/listening-to-bbcs-5-live-breakfast.html

That post featured these two videos: 

Channel 4 News (U.K.) Monday's 7 p.m. newscast: Police braced as clashes erupt across London http://bcove.me/j4tah6mb

And this was before the fires in Croyden later that night.

Croydon: on the edge of riot, http://youtu.be/crSATCwwUYk

Eight months ago I mentioned having heard for myself on-air via 5 live the mournful words of

A woman who owns a maternity boutique described seeing her life's dream literally going up in smoke, finding small hangers on nearby streets that had fallen from the clothes that were stolen. The hangers got in the way of how much they could carry out.

If you've gone back to read the that post from last year, and I strongly suggest you do, then I'm here to tell you now that my own thoughts then are the same as they are now with respect to the Labour Party's mis-guided notions that simply "communicating" with society's have-nots was the things that was missing. It wasn't.

Some people can never accept the fact that their high-minded approach, however well motivated, has failed, which the last three nights has thoroughly proven. Or recognize that some people are, in fact, criminals.

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http://www.facebook.com/pages/CROYDON-CLEAN-UP-CREW/264330046925822

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/bbc_radio_five_live
To keep up on the latest from Channel 4 News: http://www.channel4.com/news/catch-up/

Listening to BBC's 5 live Breakfast reports LIVE from Croyden reporting on rioting aftermath; www.riotcleanup.co.uk

Channel 4 News (U.K.) Monday's 7 p.m. newscast: Police braced as clashes erupt across London http://bcove.me/j4tah6mb

And this was before the fires in Croyden last night.

Croydon: on the edge of riot

http://youtu.be/crSATCwwUYk

Listening to BBC's 5 live reports LIVE from Croyden on rioting by thugs and the devastation they have wrought, while Police did nothing but mill about

Tuesday August 9th, 2011

2:30-4:20 a.m.

Below, some things I've learned while listening to BBC's 5 live reports from Croyden in South London as one successful shop -owner after another describes rioting by gangs of teens and the devastation they have wrought, destroying small shops that in some cases have been there for 40-50 years, as well as Ye Olde Dominos Pizza..

One business destroyed has been there for 140 years -made it thru WWII, but destroyed by people in their own neighborhood.

It's located on a street that's named for the business...

Nearby is a safe in the middle of the street.

A woman who owns a maternity boutique described seeing her life's dream literally going up in smoke, finding small hangers on nearby streets that had fallen from the clothes that were stolen.

The hangers got in the way of how much they could carry out.

Guess we'll finally see what all those CCTV cameras can do, since there is clear shots of what took place and who was doing it .

I also think we will be hearing lots of talk about future reprisals against the guilty.

Many business owners think that the military needs to get involved and wonder how 13-year olds are out on the street at 1 am without their parents knowing?

And ask why there were no water cannons or rubber bullets?

Lots of people interviewed there -and listeners at home- texting in to the Breakfast show are taking the Police to task and criticizing the Police establishment for their failure to adapt to changes -social media, Internet, cell phones- and to stop acting like it's fifty years ago and the problem is just juvenile delinquints out on a lark.

Lots of criticism of The Met following an outmoded Police model of civil cooperation that is simply fantasy-land.

Business owners and BBC listeners are saying over-and-over that the criminal element isn't interested in cooperation or "working with the community" but the Police establishment will be slow to change their tactics and strategy.

Theresa May, the Home Secretary, is being interviewed now and wants to say that it's "sheer criminality" -and she has said it 6-7 times- but she is avoiding answering the host's question about whether or not these are, in fact, race riots, since most of those involved are poor Blacks/Carribean and in many cases, it's Asian-owned shops that are the ones that seem to be targeted for destruction.

Many think that while there's an element of wanton opportunistic destruction, there's definitely an ethnic angle, too.

It's also been mentioned that the European press is already saying that the riots show the failure of multiculturism.

All the affected areas in London are ones with the highest concentration of gangs.

The past Labour government's notions of empowering social workers to reach out to the community is a completely failed policy in the view of the majority of the people I've heard today.

One such woman calling for more of that now is getting withering criticism on the radio from others and is actually blaming the necessary govt. cuts for the troubles.

Some people can never accept the fact that their high-minded approach, however well motivated, has failed, which the last three nights has thoroughly proven

Or recognize that some people are, in fact, criminals.

The UK-Netherlands "friendly" at Wembley Thursday night is now in the hands of the Metropolitan Police, not the FA, with a decision expected later today before Dutch team flies out from Amsterdam.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/8690418/London-riots-residents-use-Twitter-to-organise-clean-up.html

http://www.facebook.com/pages/CROYDON-CLEAN-UP-CREW/264330046925822

http://www.facebook.com/londoncleanup?sk=wall

London riots: live:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/8687177/London-riots-live.html

www.riotcleanup.co.uk

Suggest you take a listen when you get a chance.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/bbc_radio_five_live

To keep up on the latest Channel 4 news video of this, check here:

http://www.channel4.com/news/catch-up/

For latest YouTube video about Croyden riots:

http://www.youtube.com/results?suggested_categories=25&search_query=croyden+riot%2C+this+week

Kudos to Breakfast co-host Rachel Burden for walking thru Croyden while doing her report and keeping it together while seeing such signs of devastation.

It made me think of ABC News' Diane Sawyer and her well-known ability to do the same, regardless of circumstances, at world and national hot-spots, which is why she does that so often -and so well.

And at 4:20 a.m., I sign off...