Fears of a fourth night of rioting are growing in London and beyond, following comments made by the acting Police Commissioner, Tim Godwin, to the press this morning. The commissioner made it clear, however, that despite claims that the police were not succeeding in managing civil unrest across the capital, that traditional policing – as opposed to military intervention – were sufficient to bring the violence and disorder of recent days to an end. Some 16,000 officers will police London's streets tonight.

In his statement following an emergency meeting of the UK’s Cobra committee, Prime Minister David Cameron condemned the criminality, adding that the perpetrators would be brought to justice. "You will feel the full force of the law,” he said. “If you are old enough to commit these crimes you are old enough to face the punishments." The PM broke his holiday short to return to the chaos in the capital, which began in Tottenham on Saturday evening, to full-scale mayhem in Clapham, Croydon, Enfield, Ealing, Lewisham, Peckham and Wood Green.

"For several months now we have been reporting about the increased threat caused by a mix of social media anarchists and local activists who seem intent on hijacking issues to cause wanton violence and criminality. Our thoughts are with the terrified victims, as well as the police and emergency services who are trying to control this criminal disorder,” said Richard Bingley of CSARN, which is urging companies to take seriously warnings to take preventitive action now to protect staff and buildings.

The following precautionary measures have been issued by CSARN in association with the Met Police and fire specialists Resolve Network.

1. Where possible retail premises should be suitably staffed with security guards

2. Ensure staff report any suspicious activity to security and/or police

3. Consider regular checks of the building and surrounding area

4. Identify areas that are vulnerable to forced entry

5. Make sure all service doors are kept locked and secure when not in use

6. Ensure your CCTV system fully operational

7. In case of an emergency is there a record of the names of keyholders who can be contacted

8. Consider removing high value goods from display windows overnight

9. Consider keeping as little cash as possible on the premises

10. Ensure that your premises are secure and if fitted your alarm systems are fully operational

11. In the event of a non emergency, call the police on non emergency number 101

12 In the event of an emergency, call the emergency number 999

13 Photograph and keep up to date images of buildings and stock for insurance purposes

14 Back up, copy and remove all crucial documents to safer, remote yet accessible sites for your business

15 Keep all phones and mobile communication and date devices charged up and ready to use

FIRE RISK

16 Fires are used as a tactic to provide a focal point for protesters seeking to attract extensive media attention. They are also used to destroy evidence of criminality and distract emergency services, drawing them into confrontational situations.

17 Your fire risk assessment and arson prevention arrangements should be reviewed accordingly. Simple good housekeeping measures such as the removal of any flammable and combustible materials stored adjacent to the premises, for example, stacks of pallets or waste materials, can reduce risk as these items can be easily ignited and any fires started in them can quickly spread to your building.

18 Reduce the storage of flammable materials and stock near to your windows and entrance.

19 Ensure that your first aid fire fighting equipment and extinguishers are maintained and available to deal with any small fires. However, staff should be properly trained to use any equipment provided and instructed to avoid unnecessary risk. If there is any doubt, evacuate all persons from the building immediately.

20 Particular attention should be given to your arrangements to secure the safety of staff and customers from fire. Fires started using accelerants such as petrol bombs can spread very quickly, cutting off escape routes. Accelerants can cause very rapid fire spread and increase the risk that the entire building will become involved in fire, especially where there is a delay in any fire service response due to the security situation.∙

21 Past experience suggests that in these situations some people consider remaining on their property to protect it from looting and damage. However, due to th risk of rapid fire spread, this can be extremely hazardous and has led to fatalities in previous events. Refuge in the upper floors of a building that has been targeted should be avoided as it is easy to become trapped.

Commenting on the insurance impacts of the riots, Mohammad Khan, partner at PwC, said: “It’s difficult to put a value on the cost of the damage as the scope and scale is still changing but, in relative terms, the financial impact on insurers will be small. There may be some specific increases in premium for the worst affected areas but, for customers nationwide, there is also too much competition for these events to have a significant impact.

“The key issue is how quickly insurers can deal with claims as many small businesses may not have the cashflow to survive without quick payments and more will not have business interruption insurance. The UK property and casualty insurance industry has learned lessons from previous events, such as floods, and now recognises it can demonstrate value and earn customer loyalty by processing claims quickly and efficiently.

"Customers may have to check the wording of their policies carefully. Generally events like riots are included within the terms of insurance but there may be exceptions to this.

“Riots and looting are clearly very difficult to plan for but this situation does highlight that businesses must factor regular assessment of their insurance cover into their risk-management processes. Another important part of this process is monitoring changing risks and disclosing risk information to insurers to ensure there are no potentially costly gaps in their cover arrangements. Organisations can safeguard themselves by providing quality and in-depth information to their insurers, which will supply reliable and appropriate cover in return.”

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