We couldn't stop attacks on Starbucks, police admit

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Businesses fearing more protests have demanded greater protection but Scotland Yard said it could not stop thugs "hell-bent" on causing damage.

The cafés, in Piccadilly and Shaftesbury Avenue, were looted and their windows smashed on Saturday.

It followed a Stop the War Coalition protest in Trafalgar Square attended by 3,500 people. Two people were arrested for alleged offences at previous demonstrations.

At 5pm, up to 200 people were contained by police in Piccadilly and a further 40 an hour later in Hyde Park. Many wore scarves over their faces.

John Ruston, 24, manager of a shop next to Piccadilly Starbucks, said: "They came running in small break-away groups and threw a bin and a Starbucks sign at the windows."

Rioters then ran up Shaftesbury Avenue smashing in another branch.

The American coffee chain praised the police response. It is being targeted over accusations it donates money to Israel, which it strongly denies.

Last weekend rioters wrecked a Starbucks in Kensington and Whitechapel.