PRESS ASSOCIATION -- Politicians should be blamed for the violence spreading across London and other major cities, an MP has said.
Conservative David Davies, who serves as a Special Constable with British Transport Police, said a number of changes to the law over the years had made the police like sitting ducks when dealing with riots.
He believes officers are justified in using force in extreme situations as a pre-emptive strike, rather than having to wait to be attacked first.
Monmouth MP Mr Davies has called on his political colleagues to stop pointing the finger at the police as the cause of the unrest, and said they should consider the impact which their own policies have had on the ability to maintain the rule of the law.
"The police are under strict instructions at all times they must consider the human rights of law-breakers to be their absolute priority," he said.
"Officers are even being advised in some areas they should simply put up with people swearing at them, which completely undermines the authority the police once had.
"We are where we are because as a society we lack the will to allow the police to match the levels of violence being used by the mob.
"The burnt-out houses and shops are the price we as a nation pay for placing so much importance on the human rights of violent mobs."