Justice Minister praises response to disorder

Mr Blunt and Council Leader Peter John visited local traders in Peckham to hear their experiences of the disturbances and discuss the recovery effort.

Mr Blunt said: "I am impressed by the spirit of people in Southwark who pulled together in the face of last summer’s disturbances. Residents, business owners and dedicated professionals reacted quickly in the aftermath of the public disturbances to get the recovery kick-started. The Government is committed to ensuring continued support to get communities back on track."

Councillor John said: "The vast majority of people abhor what happened to their neighbourhoods in August last year and are committed to working together to prevent such disturbances from ever taking place again.

"Despite the seriousness of the disorder, however, the reaction and resilience of our community to the challenges they have faced over the last six months has been truly inspiring and is indicative of the tremendous Southwark spirit which always shines through in the face of adversity."

Following the disturbances, Southwark Council embarked on a series of "Community Conversations". These events involved senior councillors and council staff inviting members of the public to speak to them directly in a series of street-based locations across the borough so they could better understand the underlying reasons behind the disorder.

The council is also set to establish a £1million Community Restoration Fund to support schemes and initiatives that help improve the parts of the borough most affected by the disorder. This money will be split between support to businesses and young people.