Nick Clegg has spoken out about riots in London, denying that the Government was not "functioning properly".
The deputy prime minister told journalists despite being on holiday cabinet ministers were in constant contact with each other.
“I reject completely this notion that somehow this Government hasn’t been functioning very effectively indeed last week and indeed this week.
"I have been speaking to members of the Government. I spoke to the Prime Minister this morning, to the Chancellor last night, the Home Secretary yesterday, the Business Secretary, to the Energy Secretary, to the Foreign Secretary, we are in constant contact with each other and we are working effectively together as a team this week as we do in every other week of the year.”
Clegg added that the recent violence across the UK had "nothing to do with the death of Mark Duggan", the 29 year old man whose death at the hands of police sparked the disorder.
“Lets be clear the violence we saw last night had absolutely nothing to do with the death of Mr Duggan. It was needless opportunistic theft and violence – nothing more, nothing less and it is completely unacceptable and the people who have suffered are those who have lost their businesses, shopkeepers who have lost their shops.
"Families who have lost their homes and of course many people who have felt very frightened in their own neighbourhoods and that is why this Government stands side by side with those people in those communities who utterly condemn the violence and the theft.”
His comments came after home secretary Theresa May announced she was flying back to the UK to meet police chiefs in the wake of two nights of rioting across the capital.