London riots: PM Cameron recalls Parliament, promises robust police action

London:  British Prime Minister David Cameron recalled Parliament from its summer recess Tuesday to deal with the crisis touched off by three days of rioting in London. Mr Cameron described the scenes of burned buildings and smashed windows on the streets of London and several other British cities as "sickening."

However, he refrained from ordering more extreme anti-rioting measures, such as calling in the military to help the beleaguered police restore order.

Mr Cameron canceled all leave for police and promised to bring in reinforcements from around the country. He said 450 arrests had been made so far, and promised many more if the looting continued. "I am determined, the government is determined, to see justice done," he said in a televised news conference. (Watch)

A wave of violence and looting has raged across London, as authorities struggled to contain the country's worst unrest since race riots set the capital ablaze in the 1980s. (See pictures)

In London, groups of young people rampaged for a third straight night, setting buildings, vehicles and garbage dumps alight, looting stores and pelting police officers with bottles and fireworks into early Tuesday. The spreading disorder was an unwelcome warning of the possibility of violence during London's 2012 Summer Olympics, less than a year away.

In a rare move, England's soccer match Wednesday against the Netherlands in London's Wembley stadium was canceled, preventing unruly crowds from gathering and freeing up police officers who would have protected the game.

Police called in hundreds of reinforcements and volunteer police officers-- and made a rare decision to deploy armored vehicles in some of the worst-hit districts -- but still struggled to keep pace with the chaos unfolding at flashpoints across London, in the central city of Birmingham, the western city of Bristol and the northwestern city of Liverpool. (Read: Violence spreads to other cities)

"The violence we have seen is simply inexcusable. Ordinary people have had their lives turned upside down by this mindless thuggery," police commander Christine Jones said.

London's police said 14 people were injured, including a man in his 60s with life threatening injuries.

The riots appeared to have little unifying cause -- though some involved claimed to oppose sharp government spending cuts, which will slash welfare payments and cut tens of thousands of public sector jobs through 2015.But many appeared attracted simply by the opportunity for violence. "Come join the fun!" shouted one youth in the east London suburb of Hackney, where shops were attacked and cars torched.(Watch: Dramatic video of London riots)

The acting Police Commissioner of London, Tim Godwin  called on parents to keep their teenagers and children indoors as the capital braced for another day of unrest.

The crisis is a major test for Mr Cameron's Conservative-led coalition government, which includes Liberal Democrats who had long suspected its program of harsh budget restraints could provoke popular dissent. The Prime Minister cut short his summer vacation in Italy, rushing home for a crisis meeting Tuesday.