BlackBerry Falls From Executive Suite to Mobs in U.K. Riots

Research In Motion Ltd.’s BlackBerry has become indispensable among executives for its easy-to-use messaging service. That same feature is attracting looters in Britain’s worst rioting since the 1980s.

In London, 16,000 officers on duty prevented a fourth night of unrest even as disturbances spread to Manchester in the north of the U.K. At least 770 people have been arrested in the capital since Aug. 6, when the violence began after a local black man, Mark Duggan, was shot and killed by police. Insurers face a bill of more than 100 million pounds ($163 million), the Association of British Insurers said yesterday.