Britain's Riots Could be Repeated, Warns Archbishop of Canterbury

The Archbishop of Canterbury has warned that England risks a repeat of the August riots that spread across the country unless the government and civil society do more to "rescue those who think they have nothing to lose."

In an opinion piece published in The Guardian, Dr Rowan Williams, spiritual head of the Church of England and the Anglican Communion, linked the disorders to the "massive economic hopelessness" and record levels of youth unem-ployment.

Williams has also warned of "more outbreaks of futile anarchy," and called for renewed efforts to reach out to alienated youth during what he described as the "unavoidable austerity ahead."

"It isn't surprising if we see volatile, chaotic and rootless young people letting off their frustration in the kind of destructive frenzy we witnessed in August," Williams wrote, commenting on the findings of the Guardian and a London School of Economics study based on interviews with 270 rioters.

The "Reading of the Riots" study noted that a large number of people, when asked about their involvement, said such riots would be repeated and one in three expected that they would take part in any future disturbance.

According to the study, 81 percent believed the riots would happen again. Two-thirds of the 270 people who were interviewed predicted that there would be more riots in the next two years. The survey found that rioters were mainly from the country's most deprived areas. Many respondents expressed concern about falling living standards and growing unemployment due to the worsening economic climate.

The archbishop said that he felt sad after reading about the response of the rioters. He wrote in the newspaper: "Too many of these young people assume they are not going to have any ordinary, human, respectful relationships with adults - especially those in authority, the police above all. Too many of them inhabit a world in which the obsession with 'good' clothes and accessories - against a backdrop of economic insecurity or simple pri-vation - creates a feverish atmosphere where status falls and rises as suddenly and destructively as a currency market."