content: It was totally necessary. You have to appreciate the tinderbox that is London. London as a city, wasn't planned. It grew organically over close to 2 thousand years. Its made up of small twisty roads, alleyways where you wouldn't expect them etc. If there is a citywide riot, there is no way to contain it. They know it, so the last thing they want, is the one single clip of some twat getting battoned, being recorded, uploaded and setting off the tinderbox. This is why the first thing Napoleon did was rip up Paris and install nice wide boulevards. It's why cities that have been planned always have nice wide roads.