Muslim "protest", instructive

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kp-lwSe2llg

The police don't seem to be running away so much as staying in front of the approved protest route.

In spite of being constantly insulted, having objects thrown at them, and being dared to fight, they only used physical force on the the actual protestors that crossed the line and presented a threat. Which the protestors, incidentally immediately decry as racism ("Racist!"). So, based on the fact that they do "fight back", physical cowardice is not a Met problem.

The Met are not retreating, are not cowards, but unfortunately are at the mercy of cruel and abitrary masters who would rather vent their wrath on the police as opposed to those who actually desire a break down in law and order, in the event of a physical confrontation.
The cowardice isn't in the front line of the Police Service, but in every individual who controls their fate and demands that they submit themselves to abuse and humiliation. These individuals betray a vincible and blameable ignorance that protests of these kinds are anything other than what they are, a "victim interview" conducted with the British public.