Keir Starmer has warned thugs that he won’t let violence like the Southport riots dictate Government policy as he admitted he was worried about the rise of the far right.
The Prime Minister said “there was racism” in the disorder that erupted across the country after three young girls were killed in a knife attack in Southport. Alice Aguiar, 9, Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, and Bebe King, 6, died during an attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class on July 29.
Mr Starmer said Britain wasn’t a racist country and praised “decent” people who helped clean up the streets after thugs clashed with police and attacked hotels housing asylum seekers. But he told the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg there was “racism there” during the unrest in the early weeks of August.
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He said: “Yes I accept that across the country people have strong views about things like immigration. I accept that, but I am not prepared to tolerate that sort of disorder under any circumstances.
“Nor will I change Government policy one bit as a result of that sort of violence.” He went on: “The real Britain was the people who came out the day after in Southport.
“It was incredible, people came out with their trowels, with their brooms, they cleaned up, they rebuilt. They are the real face of Britain and that is the Britain that I think is essential to reuniting and bringing this country back together.”
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The PM shared concerns about the rise of far-right political parties across Europe, pointing to recent victories by Alternative For Germany (AfD) in German regional elections, and the gains by Marine le Pen’s National Rally in the French parliament. He said: “I am worried about the rise of the far right.
“I mean, we can see what is happening in Germany with the recent election, see what is happening in France and other countries. I am worried about the far right because it is the snake oil of the easy answer. I am convinced that the answer to it is delivery in Government.”
TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak said that Labour’s workers’ rights plans could help to combat “cynicism” pushed by the far right.
Speaking at the TUC Congress in Brighton, he said: “The far right thrives when it breeds a sense of cynicism about politics and politicians. They’re all the same, nothing changes. You need something radical and different.”
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It comes after a man who helped fuel a fire outside a hotel housing asylum seekers in Rotherham was jailed for nine years. Painter and decorator Thomas Birley, 27, was handed the longest prison sentence so far on Friday following the violence which swept the country in August.
The Recorder of Sheffield, Judge Jeremy Richardson KC, said during sentencing: “You were a leading participant in an ignorant racist attempt at mob rule.”
Hundreds of people have now been through the court system for riot-related offences.