Youths who join gangs are making a ‘cry for help’ because they lack a ‘sense of belonging’, Prince Charles sensationally said today as he met families whose lives were devastated by the riots.

Incredibly, the Prince of Wales put the criminal actions of looters and rioters down to an excess of of youthful ‘energy and natural aggression’ that just needs to be channelled in a constructive way.

His verdict is bound to cause anger by those hit by marauding swarms of looters last week and people living in areas at the centre of violent gang wars.

The heir to the throne made the comments after he and his wife, Camilla, visited a leisure centre in Tottenham, north London, which was offering shelter and advice to riot victims.

SCROLL DOWN TO SEE PRINCE CHARLES MAKE HIS REMARKS

 

He said: ‘I still think half the problem is that people join gangs because it’s a cry for help. They are looking for a framework, a sense of belonging and meaning.

‘Part of the problem is in the schools. There is not enough extra curricular activities. I don’t believe there is enough organised games or other sorts of activities because when you are an adolescent – I still think I remember it – you have got so much energy and natural aggression half the battle is how to channel it in a sensible and constructive way.’

Prince Charle’s remarks provoked a storm of responses on Twitter. A user posting under the screen name Autonomous Mind accused the prince of ‘rose tinted ignorance’.

‘There are many reasons youngsters join gangs,’ he wrote. ‘Prince Charles naturally chooses to ignore the malicious ones. Rose tinted ignorance.’

Meanwhile, David Vance tweeted: ‘Prince Charles shows stellar lack of understanding of the THUGGERY that despoiled London streets. Cry for help? No – cry for Plasma TV’s.’

But others responded more positively to the prince’s presence in riot hit areas, with one widely retweeted message saying: ‘Don’t badmouth Prince Charles’s visiting the riot areas. The Princes Trust has created more young jobs than govt.’

 

The Duke and Duchess of Cornwall had earlier been greeted affectionately by families who lost everything when their homes were destroyed during the riots.

The Royal visit came as The Prince’s Trust announced a £2.5 million investment in the places hardest hit across Britain by the outbreaks of looting and violence.

Prince Charles spoke to Barbara Bereda-Malik, 45, and husband Omar Malik, 47, whose flat above the Carpetright store was completely destroyed by fire.

Mrs Bereda-Malik said: ‘It was really nice to see him and see they’re concerned about our situation. He asked about how we were coping.’

Mr Malik, a cab driver, added that the council-coordinated support at the centre had been ‘amazing’.

He added: ‘But at the end of the day we’ve got this trauma that we’ve been through.
‘We are living in limbo now and it’s very stressful.’

The Prince chuckled as he posed for a mobile phone photo with the couple’s son Oskar Malik, five, who appeared bemused by all the attention.

The youngster also offered the Duchess a crisp from the packet he was munching on, which she good-naturedly ate.

More than 100 families have come to the centre for help since the emergency strategy was put into practice last week.

A spokeswoman for Haringey Council said 45 properties were  destroyed in the fires started by rioters with a further 10 badly damaged.

Nearly all of those families have sought help from the centre, which has been offering aid with housing, legal advice, financial and business advice and child care, and victim support.

A temporary job centre has also been set up as the local one burnt down and the centre is collecting clothing and household goods donations which are sorted out and distributed to the needy in the area.

Secondary school teacher Anna Beames, 30, said she decided to volunteer after she came to drop off some clothes.

She said: ‘I came here to donate some clothes last Tuesday and I haven’t really left. I’ve been helping with everything really. It’s my community, it’s where I’m from, so I felt I should.’

Speaking about the Duchess, Miss Beames said: ‘She just asked me what I was doing and how long I’d been here. She told me she could barely believe it when she was watching it all on the TV.’

Wearing a green and white patterned dress and green jacket, Camilla spoke to a number of young children being looked after at the temporary centre’s creche.

She took particular interest in 19-month-old Mia Greenaway, whose home was badly smoke damaged in one of the fires.

Her mother, Victoria Norman, 38, a creative designer, said: ‘We had to watch our friends’ homes burn down around us and we thought we’d be next.

‘We’ve got away with just a lot of smoke damage. We can live there still but it doesn’t feel like home anymore.

‘We wrestle with this guilt that we’ve still got our home though and the others haven’t.’

She added: ‘I think it’s a positive thing that they’ve actually taken the time to come and see us here and see the people who have donated their time and their presence.’

The Salvation Army (SA) has also been helping at the centre.

SA national emergency coordinator Muriel McClenahan, 62, said: ‘We’ve been providing material goods, all physical things for their homes.

‘Some people have lost every single item they possessed so we’ve been sorting out the things that have been donated – clothing, toiletries, shoes, household items – just about everything.

‘It’s been amazing. It’s shown that there’s more good in the world than bad.’

She said of the Duchess: ‘She said how pleased she was to see the Salvation Army here and expected us to be here.’

By the time the royals left the centre, news of their visit had spread and huge crowds had gathered outside to see them.

The couple stopped to speak to some of them, with Charles chatting to local man Dymond Allen.
Mr Allen, 35, said: ‘He asked if my house had been affected and if I was a rapper.

‘I said ‘no, I’m a youth worker’, and he said ‘thank God for people like you.’

The couple later met young people affected by the riots at a Prince’s Trust centre in Hackney, east London.

The Prince’s Trust plans to double its support for young people in Manchester, Birmingham and the London areas of Hackney, Tottenham and Croydon.

As well as committing £1 million from funds already raised, the charity is calling on the business community to back a £1.5 million fundraising drive to bring in the rest of the money.

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