Council tenants found to have been involved in last week’s riots will not face eviction, town hall chiefs have said.

Tower Hamlets Council has decided not to follow in the footsteps of Greenwich and Barking and Dagenham by kicking out any tenants who were caught up in the looting and destruction.

A Tower Hamlets spokeswoman said: “This is not something that the council is considering.

“At present our priority is supporting the police to bring the culprits to justice and providing assistance to residents and businesses that have been affected by the disturbances.”

The issue was brought up as anti-cuts group Hands Off Our Public Services held a meeting to discuss the riots on Tuesday.

Glyn Robbins, from HOOPS, said the group agreed with the town hall’s decision and thought it should go a step further in condemning councils bringing in the measure.

He added: ““Council housing has never been used in that kind of punitive way as a form of punishment and should not be used as a way of punishing a whole family for what may or may not be the actions of one person.

“Demonisation is not going to address the issues.”

But the Tory opposition in the borough said the council should get tougher.

Peter Golds, leader of the Tower Hamlets Conservatives, said: “We believe people who abuse tenancies and take part in criminal activities deserve to be shamed, after due judicial process.”