David Cameron is facing growing cabinet pressure to rethink the coalition's policing cuts in the wake of the deaths of three young Birmingham men, who were hit by a car during violent disturbances in the city.
As the Police Federation warned of a "catastrophe" if similar riots erupted after the cuts were introduced, a senior government source said the Home Office would be advised to take a fresh look at its plans to cut £2bn from police funding over the next few years. "The optics have changed," the source told the Guardian.
Cameron said the cuts would not lead to a "reduction in visible policing". He is expected to announce some emergency funding when he addresses the Commons on Thursday, to cover the extra costs of policing this week's riots, as well as the possibility of insurance claims against police on the grounds they provided no protection to businesses in a riot.
But there are fears in Whitehall that the Home Office plan to make savings in the police service could leave an "exposed flank" in any future riots. London's mayor Boris Johnson warned the government against cutting numbers. "The case was always pretty frail and it's been substantially weakened. This is not the time to think about making substantial cuts in police numbers," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
The pressure on Cameron followed a day of rising tensions in Birmingham as community leaders and police appealed for calm following the death of Haroon Jahan, 21, and brothers Shazad Ali, 30 and Abdul Musavir, 31. The three were part of a group of around 80 guarding a petrol station and shops from looters in Winson Green when they were victims of a hit-and-run in the early hours of Wednesday. A murder inquiry has been launched, and a 32-year-old man is being questioned.
Amid fears the deaths could spark inter-communal reprisals, the distraught father of Jahan made an emotional appeal to the community, revealing he had desperately tried to resuscitate his youngest son.
Holding a photograph of Haroon, Tariq Jahan, said he was nearby and rushed to help. "I ran towards the commotion and the first guy I found was someone I didn't know. I started giving him CPR until someone pointed out that the guy behind me was my son on the floor," he said.
"So I started CPR on my own son, my face was covered in blood, my hands were covered in blood. Why, why?
"He was trying to help his community and he has been killed." Describing his son, a mechanic and keen boxer, as "a very well-liked kid", he said: "I can't describe to anybody what it feels like to lose a son. He was the youngest of three, and anything I ever wanted done, I would always ask Haroon to sort it out for me.
"A day from now, maybe two days from now, the whole world will forget and nobody will care."
In a message to the local community, he implored: "Today we stand here to plead with all the youth to remain calm, for our communities to stand united.
"This is not a race issue. The family has received messages of sympathy and support from all parts of society."
Visibly emotional, Jahan added: "I lost my son. Blacks, Asians, whites – we all live in the same community. Why do we have to kill one another? Why are we doing this? Step forward if you want to lose your sons. Otherwise, calm down and go home – please." Haroon, Shazad, and Abdul Musavir who ran a local carwash, were standing near the petrol station on Dudley Road when they were hit. Shazad, who had a degree in business management, had married in March and his new wife is pregnant. The three were said to be protecting property after a Jet petrol station had been robbed the previous day.
One witness said four carloads of young African-Caribbean men had cruised down Dudley Road and suggested there had been no doubt what they were planning to loot.
The Bishop of Aston, the Rt Rev Andrew Watson, warned of events "potentially having an ugly race dimension", following a heated meeting between local residents at a mosque. Anger was palpable. "Of course it was deliberate. No way was it an accident," said one eyewitness. "The driver went on to the pavement and rammed them. He knew what he was doing.
"If the police don't sort this one out quickly, there will be race riots," added the man, who declined to be named, but who has given a statement to police.
Mohammed Chowdhri, a family friend, said: "I have known Haroon since he was a baby, we are all absolutely devastated. He was fed up with the rioters and the looters and he was determined that they would not destroy our community."
As shoes taken off by respectful mourners formed a growing heap at a local mosque, community leaders moved rapidly to spread Jahan's message and add words of their own.
"These were bright young guys we've lost," said one man. "They knew the meaning of work and got themselves decent jobs. The brothers had a carwash which was another business which might have been targeted, and Haroon worked as a mechanic in a garage. "They were well-known round here.
The bishop said that extended families were part of a very strong network in the community which added to the strength of feelings. Sobia Nazia, a cousin of the brothers, said: "They were brothers to everybody. They used to look out for everyone. They were heroes. I heard people describing them on Facebook as brothers to one and all."
She added: "We don't want anything more to happen – just the culprits brought to justice. We don't want other families to suffer. It's the youth. They have no knowledge, they have no jobs and they are bored."
Warnings of racial violence came in advance of parliament being recalled on Thursday and as Cameron announced contingency plans were in place to deploy water cannon at 24 hours notice if necessary as part of a police "fightback" to contain the rioting and looting that has swept England since Saturday.
On Wednesday night hundreds of police in riot gear were deployed to Eltham, south-east London, where men were on the street for a second night as self-appointed protectors of the community. Police briefly clashed on Eltham Hill with about 200 men, some chanting "EDL" [English Defence League], and bottles were thrown.
One local man, Jay Evans, told the Guardian there were a number of English Defence League members present "trying to jump on the bandwagon" but said they were "an extremely small minority".
Earlier, the home secretary Theresa May ordered chief constables to cancel "all police leave" to deal with the rioting crisis, saying "maximising the police presence on the street must be a priority", in affected areas.
An emergency reserve of riot police has been put on standby as senior police tackle the unprecedented challenges of disorder, which has spread from London, to cities including Birmingham, Manchester, Salford, Nottingham, Bristol and Liverpool.
Courts were sitting throughout the night, as the first of those to be prosecuted in connection with looting and violent disorder appeared, including a primary school assistant, and an 11-year-old boy.
Visiting Birmingham on Wednesday, Cameron described the deaths in the city as "a truly dreadful incident", adding that the police were "working night and day to get to the bottom of what happened and bring the perpetrators to justice".
Earlier, as he left a meeting of the government's emergency committee Cobra, he said every contingency was being looked at and "nothing is off the table" in providing police with the resources needed to tackle the disturbance.
Police would get whatever resources they needed, and legal backing for whatever tactics they needed to employ. "We needed a fightback and a fightback is under way."
The riots had shown "pockets of society" were not just broken "but frankly sick". He said the root cause was "mindless selfishness, and "complete lack of responsibility in our society."
"When we see children as young as 13, looting and laughing, when we see the disgusting sight of an injured young man with people pretending to help him while they are robbing him, it is clear that there are things that are badly wrong in our society." Cameron said he expected prison sentences for those convicted of violent disorder, and that detectives were going through CCTV. Looters would be tracked down "picture by picture" and he would not let "phoney concerns about human rights get in the way of the publication of these pictures".
In London, 820 people have now been arrested in connection with violence, disorder and looting – with 279 charged. In total across England there have been more than 1,300 arrested.
Six forces are now receiving reinforcements as part of the national mutual aid operation set up to deal with the scale of the looting.
London, Manchester, the West Midlands, Gloucestershire, Nottinghamshire and Avon and Somerset have all been sent officers. Sir Hugh Orde, the president of the Association of Chief Police Officers, said if other forces requested help they would be supported.
Orde, who has been having regular discussions with the prime minister and the home secretary at Cobra, said: "Clearly these are challenging times. We are in an unprecedented situation but we are determined to do our best to ensure that forces have adequate mutual aid for anyone who requests it."
A mobile reserve of police support units to provide a rapid response for forces, and made up of public order officers across the country, will be kept in one or two geographic locations to be called upon when needed.
While West Midlands police forensic teams prioritised the Winson Green incident, the force said that 11 other people were suspected of involvement.
The chief constable said: "Like everyone else in Birmingham, my concern now will be that that single incident doesn't lead to a much wider and more general level of distrust, and even worse, violence, between different communities."
On the forecourt of the garage where the three died, members of the local Muslim and Sikh community came together for prayers in a candlelit vigil. Among the 50 men stood Tariq Jahan. Many applauded his appeal for communal peace, and as prayers ended, one cried out: "united we stand, divided we fall".
On Wednesday night, police named the man found shot in his car in Croydon following rioting on Monday night as Trevor Ellis, 26. He suffered a gunshot wound to the head.
