OPINION - If this is the end of England's riots — here's what we can learn from them

There were, thank God, no riots to speak of last night. Instead there was a unity rally in Walthamstow which attracted thousands of people in a demonstration of social solidarity. Is it safe now to talk about the end of the riots? We can at least say that, for now, they are not happening, except possibly in Belfast; the foreign TV news crews are returning home; and, as some pundits have observed, the imminent return of the football season may give the rioting hooligans an alternative outlet for their energies.