Politicians reacted with anger at last night’s outrage – and appealed for ‘business as usual’ in Manchester today.

Manchester councillor Pat Karney appealed for every household to in Greater Manchester to play their part in preventing a repeat of the chaos.

Coun Karney said: "There is no reason for children to be in the city centre tonight. Every household in Manchester has a part to play to make sure children stay out of the city tonight.

"Last night we saw nine, ten, and eleven-year-old in balaclavas. They have taken home trainers and bottles of booze. You must ask yourself if you are a parent how did your children come by these goods.

"This is one of the worst days in Manchester’s history. People are very angry in the city. They want to see these people brought before the courts as soon as possible.

"It is now important that Manchester goes back to work."

Manchester Central MP Tony Lloyd, chair of the Parliamentary Labour Party, said: "This will cost us not just financially but in terms of the reputation of our city which has made such real progress over the last 15 years. They have dragged it through the mud and that is unforgivable.

"Like the overwhelming majority of people, I have an enormous sense of dismay, frustration and outrage that a small number of criminals feel they’re entitled to trash our beautiful city. They have terrified ordinary people. Manchester doesn’t deserve this.

"There will have to be the inevitable questions asked about how this can happen – not just root causes but also in terms of policing.

"One of the real questions we must also ask is whether there are sufficient police available for this and why forces are being cut. But in the end the police got most of those involved and what I want to see is the police make every effort to bring those involved tonight before the courts."

But Graham Stringer, MP for Blackley and Broughton, said the police had ‘some serious questions to answer’.

He said: "This is not Tottenham where there was no warning, they’d known this was going to happen all day both in Salford and the city centre.

"Troublemakers were able to come into Manchester exhibiting threatening behaviour and nothing was done. The police appeared to stand back and watch while they vandalised, looted and burned shops.

"This was both opportunistic criminal behaviour and well-organised by well-known gangsters and criminals – and the police watched.

"The Chief Constable has an enormous amount of explaining to do. I’m just appalled that this has happened to my city, that people’s businesses have been damaged. It’s an appalling image to send around the world."

Salford and Eccles MP Hazel Blears said: "There were a lot of spectators down there and I will be asking the police why people weren’t diverted, why road blocks weren’t in place.

"Like a lot of other people in Salford I have spent the past 20 years trying to improve opportunities and change the image of our city and I want people to know this is still a great place to live and work.

"Ninety-nine per cent of people in Salford, including young people, want to get on with their lives and we have to make sure that this tiny minority are brought to justice. They have to be brought before the courts and if they are juveniles their parents have to be brought into the frame too."

John Merry, leader of Salford council, added: "We have a small knot of people intent on criminality. By trying to trash the precinct they are damaging their own community – destroying livelihoods, attacking their mothers and fathers and relatives.

"This is not about any deep-seated issue in Salford. People have latched on to a feeling of lawlessness to steal and do damage."

Norman Owen, leader of the Liberal Democrats in Salford, said: "Having witnessed myself at first hand from early afternoon to around 8pm the growing violence and the organised criminal behaviour it is a sad day for Salford, a great city."

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