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David Cameron said all Met Police leave had been cancelled,
and police on London's streets would rise from 6,000 on Monday to 16,000
on Tuesday.


He interrupted his summer break to chair a meeting of the emergency Cobra committee in Downing Street.


MPs have not been called back during the summer since 2002.


The recall announcement came as some politicians called for tougher measures to be used to quell the violence.


UKIP leader Nigel Farage said troops should be sent in to
help restore order, Conservative MP Patrick Mercer suggested water
cannons should be used "if necessary" - while London Labour MP Diane
Abbott said a curfew should be considered.


'Stand together'
But BBC Radio 4's chief political correspondent Norman Smith
said Mr Cameron had held back from more extreme measures - possibly
guided by police chiefs - to instead pledge a big increase in the number
of police officers on the streets and to recall Parliament.


Speaking after the Cobra meeting, Mr Cameron said his office
had spoken to Commons Speaker John Bercow, who had agreed to recall
Parliament for a day on Thursday.



He praised police bravery but said it was clear that many more officers were needed alongside more "robust" action.


Mr Cameron said all Metropolitan Police leave had been
cancelled and there would be more support from police forces "up and
down the country".


He said the government stood on the side of the law abiding
and expressed sympathy for homeowners, business people and others left
feeling frightened in communities hit by violence.


"This is criminality, pure and simple, and it has to be confronted and defeated," he said.


"People should be in no doubt that we will do everything
necessary to restore order to Britain's streets and to make them safe
for the law-abiding."


There has been serious damage in various parts of London,
with a number of shops looted and buildings set alight. There were also
disturbances in Birmingham, Liverpool, Nottingham and Bristol.


Police have struggled to curb the wave of violence, which
began on Saturday night in Tottenham, north London, following a protest
against the shooting by police of a local man, 29-year-old Mark Duggan.


Mrs May, who also ended her summer break early, told BBC
Radio 4's Today programme water cannons had not been used in mainland
Britain and British policing was based on a different model to other
countries.


But she said "in these circumstances" she would listen to what the police felt they needed to do the job.


Asked whether the government would reconsider cuts to police
budgets, she said ministers had to ensure there was a credible deficit
reduction plan, adding: "We have been clear, as have HMIC [Her Majesty's
Inspectorate of Constabulary], that it is possible for the police to
make cuts without effecting front line services.


"It's not because of government cuts that people are going out and committing criminal behaviour on our streets. "


Labour MP for Hackney North, Diane Abbott, told the BBC that
while a curfew would be "very difficult to impose" it should now be
considered for some city centres to help "regain control of the
streets". But she warned that water cannons or using the Army would make
things worse.


UKIP leader Mr Farage wrote on the Twitter website: "Cobra
must call in military support for the police if they are to control
these riots. The population deserve protection."


Water cannons
But Tory MP Patrick Mercer told the BBC: "This is not a
military situation, you bring troops in and it starts suggesting a
revolution - we are nowhere near that."


He said police officers should be given backing to use
"tools" to contain rioters and protect property, adding water cannons
should be used "if necessary" - as they had been in Northern Ireland.


"If we don't have enough police officers, which often we
don't for good reason then let's make sure they have the tools, the
skills necessary to make sure they can punch above their weight. If that
means we have to use a water cannon - so be it."


Labour leader Mr Miliband, who has returned to London from a
family holiday in Devon, branded the violence "disgraceful criminal
behaviour".


"What we need to see is the strongest possible police
response to restore calm and security to our streets and for communities
to work together.


"It is right that the prime minister is chairing Cobra. We
need a coordinated response to ensure public safety and help those
people who have lost homes and businesses."


London Mayor Boris Johnson also bowed to pressure by cutting
short his holiday as the violence continued and is due back in London at
lunchtime on Tuesday.