The rioting on the first day could be described as a volatile escalation of the civil disobedience related to protests about the death of Mark Duggan and the inevitable (and all too predictable) cover-up by the police. However, from the second day, the dominant element of the riots could adequately be described as "opportunistic looting". Regardless, looting is merely one common element of a riot and they are, ultimately, riots, and should be reported as such.  Talk