Arrest total from British riots is around 1,700

Courts in London work day and night to process a stream of suspects, most accused of burglary, theft and arson, with some facing murder charges.

By Janet Stobart
Los Angeles Times
4:44 AM PDT, August 12, 2011

LONDON

British police and law courts working round the clock continue rounding up rioters that laid waste to homes and businesses throughout the country this week.

By midday Friday arrests totaled around 1,700, but a Scotland Yard spokeswoman said "that number is changing all the time."

In London on Friday morning police arrested a man in connection with the murder of 68-year-old Richard Mannington Bowes, who was severely beaten by rioters Monday night. He died in a hospital in the early hours of Friday, bringing to five the death toll from four nights of rioting.

Across northern England in Manchester, Salford and Liverpool, police have arrested over 200 so far, and in Birmingham in central England, West Midlands police say arrests total 467.

(More here.)