British Prime Minister David Cameron recalled parliament from its summer recess Tuesday, August 9, to deal with the crisis touched off by three days of rioting in London.

Cameron described the scenes of burned buildings and smashed windows on the streets of London and several other British cities as "sickening." However, he refrained from ordering more extreme anti-rioting measures, such as calling in the military to help the beleaguered police restore order.

Cameron canceled all leave for police and promised to bring in reinforcements from around the country. He said 450 arrests had been made so far, and promised many more if the looting continued.

"I am determined, the government is determined, to see justice done," he said in a televised news conference, the Associated Press reported.

A wave of violence and looting has raged across London, as authorities struggled to contain the country's worst unrest since race riots set the capital ablaze in the 1980s.