Guyanese-born UK MP calls for BlackBerry Messenger suspension to calm riots

LONDON/TORONTO, (Reuters) – A lawmaker called today for BlackBerry’s instant messaging service to be  suspended after rioters used it to mobilise in London and other  British cities.
Guyanese-born David Lammy, Member of Parliament for Tottenham, where  London’s worst riots for decades began on Saturday, appealed on  Twitter and on BBC radio for BlackBerry maker Research in Motion
to suspend BlackBerry Messenger (BBM).
“This is one of the reasons why unsophisticated criminals  are outfoxing an otherwise sophisticated police force,” he  tweeted. “BBM is different as it is encrypted and police can’t  access it.”
The riots, in which shops are being looted and cars and  buildings set ablaze, spread to Britain’s second-largest city  Birmingham and other centres.
Politicians and police are blaming the violence on criminals  and hooligans but some commentators and local residents say its  roots lie in anger over economic hardship in a city where the  prospects for many youths are dim.
Many of the rioters favour BlackBerry Messenger over Twitter  and other social media because its messages are encrypted and  private, but the service is widely used and messages can easily  be sent to groups.
Research In Motion said in a statement on Monday: “As in all  markets around the world where BlackBerry is available, we  cooperate with local telecommunications operators, law  enforcement and regulatory officials.”
The company declined to say whether it was handing over chat  logs or user details to police.
Research In Motion’s Inside BlackBerry blog was hacked on  Tuesday by a group going by the name of Teampoison. The group  posted a warning to the company not to cooperate with police.
“You Will _NOT_ assist the UK Police because if u do  innocent members of the public who were at the wrong place at  the wrong time and owned a blackberry will get charged for no  reason at all,” the statement said.
“If you do assist the police by giving them chat logs, gps  locations, customer information & access to peoples  BlackBerryMessengers you will regret it, we have access to your  database which includes your employees information; e.g –  Addresses, Names, Phone Numbers etc. – now if u assist the  police, we _WILL_ make this information public and pass it onto  rioters,” it said.