Britain will consider calling in the army in future riots to free up police to deal with troublemakers, Prime Minister David Cameron said on Thursday, August 11.

The government will also give the police powers to demand people remove face coverings and it will compensate people whose houses or businesses were damaged in riots in London and other English cities this week, he said, Reuters reported.

"It is the government's responsibility to make sure that every future contingency is looked at, including whether there are tasks that the army could undertake that might free up more police for the front line," Cameron told parliament, holding an emergency session to discuss the mayhem.