London riots: Sky, ITN and CNN reporters attacked

Tuesday 09 Aug 2011
Journalists and photographers came under attack on Monday as London faced its third consecutive day of violent riots in the British capital, The Guardian report.

Reporters from the BBC and Sky News were forced to retreat from London Road in Croydon, after their vehicle windows were smashed by rioters.

Mark Stone, a Sky News reporter who was recording the looting with his IPhone, was chased by rioters and forced to flee. But he returned to report live to camera on the aftermath of the Clapham Junction disturbance after Sky News dispatched a satellite truck.

CNN reporter Dan Rivers and his cameraman were caught between rioters and a police line in Peckham. They hastily retreated as bottles and other missiles began to rain down.

ITN had its broadcasting van attacked in Tottenham earlier in the evening. Channel 4 News reporter, Kris Jepson, said on Twitter that a cameraman’s equipment had been smashed in the scuffle.

The BBC and Sky News are understood to have used hired private security guards to accompany their cameramen for the past two nights. Both broadcasters pulled out their TV crews from Tottenham at 1am on Sunday morning, after the first wave of violent protests.

Viewers hungry for news of the London riots on Tuesday provided BBC News channel with its highest-ever viewing figures.

The BBC’s news website recorded its second highest level of UK usage ever on Tuesday with 6.8 million users, second only to the day after last year’s general election.