Sir Keir Starmer has rejected claims of “two-tier policing” in Britain after Nigel Farage suggested riots over the last week have been dealt with more harshly than other recent unrest and protests.
The Prime Minister flatly denied Mr Farage’s claims as a “non-issue” and insisted policing was carried out “without fear or favour”.
Rioting has spread across English towns and cities over the last week, beginning in Southport after last Monday’s stabbing in the Merseyside town which led to the death of three young girls.
Axel Rudakubana, a 17-year-old from Lancashire, is accused of the attack, but false claims spread online that the suspect was an asylum seeker who had travelled to the UK by boat.
Anti-immigration rioters have stormed hotels housing asylum seekers amid chaos over the weekend.
Some have sought to compare the policing of the violence with other recent events such as the disorder in Harehills, Leeds, in mid-July or the pro-Palestine marches through London.
In a statement calling for Parliament to be recalled from its summer recess, Reform UK leader Mr Farage said the “impression of two-tier policing” had “become widespread”.
But speaking after an emergency Cobra meeting called to address the unrest, Sir Keir responded: “There is no two-tier policing.
“There is policing without fear or favour – exactly as it should be, exactly what I would expect and require.
“So that is a non-issue.”
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman meanwhile told reporters: “The job of the police is to keep everyone safe, to tackle violence and disorder no matter the origination.”
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley appeared to grab a journalist’s microphone and throw it to the ground as he left the Cobra meeting.
Sir Mark did not respond as the reporter asked him: “Are you going to end two-tier policing?”
Dame Priti Patel , a Conservative former home secretary, had earlier joined Sir Keir in rubbishing Mr Farage’s claims.
She told Times Radio: “There is a clear difference between effectively blocking streets or roads being closed, to burning down libraries, hotels, food banks and attacking places of worships.
“What we have seen is thuggery, violence, racism.”
She added: “Those kinds of comments are simply not relevant right now. That is not correct, it is not correct.”
Sir Keir announced a series of measures to deal with rioters after the emergency meeting, including plans for a “standing army” of specialist police officers to tackle unrest, as well as moves to “ramp up” the criminal justice process to carry out swift prosecutions.
The Liberal Democrats welcomed the new measures, with Sir Ed Davey saying: “We welcome the actions taken by our brave police officers and the new measures announced today by the Government to clamp down on criminals attempting to terrorise our communities.
“People from all backgrounds and all walks of life have come together to condemn these riots and clean up the damage.
“It is they who truly represent Britain, not the rioters and those who have incited them.”
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