The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Yvette Cooper)
Before I start, I want to pass our sympathies to the families of
Cher Maximen and Mussie Imnetu, who died, sadly, this weekend
following violent incidents around the Notting Hill carnival. Our
thoughts are with their friends and families at this terrible time,
and our thanks go to the police, who have moved swiftly to charge
suspects in both cases. There is no place for such appalling,
senseless violence on our...Request free
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The Secretary of State for the Home Department ()
Before I start, I want to pass our sympathies to the families of
Cher Maximen and Mussie Imnetu, who died, sadly, this weekend
following violent incidents around the Notting Hill carnival. Our
thoughts are with their friends and families at this terrible
time, and our thanks go to the police, who have moved swiftly to
charge suspects in both cases. There is no place for such
appalling, senseless violence on our streets, and this Government
are determined to stamp out the scourge of serious violence,
wherever it is found.
With permission, Madam Deputy Speaker, I will now make a
statement on the violent disorder that occurred earlier this
summer. Just before the parliamentary recess, I made a statement
to this House on the horrendous attack that took place in
Southport on 29 July. Five weeks on, our hearts still ache for
the three precious little girls who lost their lives, for their
loved ones, and for the other children who were injured or
endured unspeakable horror that day. The House will know that a
suspect has been charged, and the investigation into the attack
is ongoing. Those grieving families, the Southport community and
the country will need answers, but, for that reason, the legal
process must now take its course.
That day in the House, all of us came together in sorrow and in
solidarity with the families and the people of Southport, and I
spoke of the bravery, compassion and distress of the police, the
paramedics and the firefighters I had met that morning, who were
first on the scene. It is truly appalling that within hours of
that statement, the same Southport police were facing the most
disgraceful violent attacks from criminals and thugs. Police
officers were pelted with bricks and bottles. The local mosque—a
place of worship—was subjected to violent attack. While millions
of decent people across the country were praying for bereaved
families, a criminal minority of thugs and extremists saw only an
opportunity to hijack a town's grief. The Merseyside chief
constable, Serena Kennedy, spoke at the funeral of Alice da Silva
Aguiar, where she said she hoped that anyone taking part in the
violent disorder was
“hanging their head in shame at the pain”
that they had caused the bereaved family.
In the days that followed, we saw further disgraceful violent
disorder in a number of towns and cities. There were repeated
attacks on the same police officers whose job it is to keep
communities safe, and over 100 officers were injured. In
Sunderland, a citizens advice branch was set alight. In
Liverpool, a library and vital community hub was torched. In
Hull, shops were looted and a mosque was targeted. In Rotherham,
a hotel used as asylum accommodation was set alight when people
were inside. In Bolton, clashes between rival groups involved
fireworks and bottles being thrown. And we saw people targeted on
the streets because of the colour of their skin. This disgraceful
disorder and racist hatred, included that whipped up by a hateful
minority online, was an insult to those grieving over
Southport.
Let us be very clear: those violent and criminal attacks were not
protests. They were not about grievance. They were thuggery,
racism and crime. Plenty of people across the country have strong
views about crime, policing, immigration, asylum, the NHS and
more, but they do not pick up bricks and throw them at the
police. They do not loot shops or attack places of worship, and
they do not set buildings alight knowing that other human beings
are inside. There is a lot to debate on all kinds of policy
issues, but no one should make excuses for violence or thuggery
that risks public safety. This was brazen criminality,
perpetrated in many cases by those with existing criminal
convictions.
The Prime Minister and I made it clear that criminals would pay
the price for their violence, and we meant it. The Prime Minister
announced a new national violent disorder programme to bring
together the best policing capabilities and enhance intelligence
sharing across forces, and Ministers worked daily with the police
and criminal justice partners to ensure that there was a strong
and determined response. The National Police Co-ordination Centre
operated a national mobilisation plan to ensure that strategic
reserves of public order officers were ready to be deployed in
support of different police forces. More than 40,000 officer
shifts were worked by public order officers over 10 days, with
over 6,600 public order officers deployed on one day alone. Rest
days were cancelled and additional hours were worked.
The Crown Prosecution Service deployed over 100 additional
prosecutors, boosting its 24-hour charging service with
additional advice from the Director of Public Prosecutions so
that they could move swiftly to charge. The Ministry of Justice
accelerated the work on new cells to bring 500 more prison places
on stream earlier, and the Lord Chancellor made it clear that the
courts stood ready to hear all the cases coming through. The Home
Office established a new rapid procedure for security support for
mosques to ensure that communities felt supported and safe. In
total, around 1,280 people have been arrested, around 800 charges
have been made and over 570 individuals had been brought before
the courts for offences such as violent disorder, assaults on
emergency workers, arson and encouraging violent attacks online.
This robust and swift response from the Government and the
criminal justice system has provided a strong deterrent and shown
our steadfast determination to keep people safe. Most
importantly, order was restored.
I want now to update the House on some of the next steps we will
take. First, we will take forward positive policing reform to
build on the important work done by the National Police
Co-ordination Centre this summer. I want to particularly thank
the chair of the National Police Chiefs' Council and the public
order lead for the mobilisation work that they did, but the
reality is that the co-ordination infrastructure and systems that
they had to work with were too weak. I am therefore asking His
Majesty's inspectorate of constabulary and fire and rescue
services to work quickly with the NPCC, the College of Policing
and the national lead for public order, to review the lessons
from this summer's events so that we can ensure that strong
co-ordination and intelligence systems are in place and that
there is sufficient public order policing for the future.
Secondly, as well as ensuring that there is proper punishment for
those responsible for this disorder, we will be pressing forward
at pace with this Government's mission to take back the safety of
our streets and restore respect for the police and the rule of
law. We will put thousands more neighbourhood police officers and
police community support officers back on the streets, reversing
the collapse in community policing and rebuilding the
relationship between local communities and forces. This
Government are very clear that wherever and whenever violence and
disorder emerge—whether in Hartlepool or Harehills, Sunderland or
Stoke—we expect crimes to have consequences and perpetrators to
face the full force of the law. The criminal violence we saw
after the Southport attacks was not the only violent disorder
this summer. We also saw disgraceful arson and attacks on the
police in Harehills. In that case, 32 people have been arrested
and in the past week three men have pleaded guilty to arson and
violent disorder after a bus was set alight.
Thirdly, I have been concerned for a long time that not enough is
being done to counter extremism—including both Islamist extremism
and far right extremism—as there has been no proper strategy in
place since 2015. I have ordered a rapid review of extremism to
ensure that we have the strongest possible response to the
poisonous ideologies that corrode community cohesion and fray the
fabric of our democracy. Alongside that, the Deputy Prime
Minister is overseeing cross-Government work to consider how we
support our communities and address issues of cohesion in the
longer term.
Fourthly, the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and
Technology will strengthen the requirements for social media
companies to take responsibility for the poison being
proliferated on their platforms with the roll-out of the measures
in the Online Safety Act 2023, and we will continue to be clear
that criminal content online results in criminal sanctions
offline. Fifthly, we stand ready to support the police through
the special grant for policing, and the Home Office will work
with police and crime commissioners to ensure that the Riot
Compensation Act 2016 works effectively in the areas that are
affected.
The country recoiled in horror at the scenes of violence and
disorder in some cities and towns earlier this summer, but let
there be no doubt: the minority of criminals and thugs who sought
to cause havoc do not represent Britain. Instead, across the
country we saw decent people coming together to support each
other, to clean up the damage and to rebuild communities: the
bricklayers who repaired the wall of the Southport mosque; the
residents who donated funds and books to restock the Spellow
library; and the volunteers in Sunderland who found a new site to
offer community advice. There are many more examples, and those
small, unassuming acts of selflessness should serve as a message
to the criminals and extremists that they do not speak for
Britain and they never will. I commend this statement to the
House.
5.44pm
Mr (Braintree) (Con)
I thank the Secretary of State for the advance copy of her
statement.
I wish, once again, to pay my respects to the victims of the
Southport attacks. The murder of three young girls in Southport
was horrific, and our thoughts are with them, their families and
friends, and of course the local community.
My thoughts are also with the families and friends of those who
were killed at the Notting Hill carnival. The Government and the
Mayor of London must do more to end the criminality and violence
that too regularly mar this event, and they must bring forward
credible plans to improve safety well ahead of next year's
carnival.
I pay tribute to the bravery of our police officers across the
country who put themselves in harm's way to deal with the
violence perpetrated by thugs this summer. There is not, and
never can be, any excuse, justification or rationale for the
violent disorder that we have seen. We cannot and will not let
rioting thugs or extremists win. The Government must always back
our police officers to do what is necessary to maintain law and
order. Attacks on the police by any group must not be tolerated,
and intimidation of the public or the media cannot be
allowed.
Does the Home Secretary now see that the comments made by one of
her Ministers at the time of the riots, seemingly making excuses
for armed thugs who intimidated the media, undermines the
Government's credibility, reinforces the accusations of bias, and
puts people, including police officers, at increased risk?
Does the Home Secretary now also recognise that the Labour
leadership kneeling in the immediate aftermath of the Black Lives
Matter disorder, when violent protestors attacked police
officers, makes it look like her party takes some forms of
violence less seriously than others? Does she accept that any
perception whatsoever of treating the same crime differently,
based on the race, religion or community of the perpetrator,
increases tension rather than reduces it? Does she accept that,
at times of heightened tension, Ministers must be, and must be
seen to be, even-handed and demand even-handedness of others?
Does the Home Secretary also recognise that the delay in holding
a Cobra meeting until almost a week after these events started
was a mistake, that it created a vacuum and that it delayed the
actions that could have brought this disorder to an end more
quickly? At the time of the disorder, the Prime Minister claimed
that he would create a “standing army” of public order police
officers. What progress has been made in the intervening weeks to
make that claim a reality?
After the murder of the three young girls in Southport, the right
hon. Lady and I discussed across the Dispatch Box the impact of
misinformation and disinformation online. When I was Home
Secretary, I travelled to the United States to deliver this
message directly to the leadership of the tech firms and to make
clear what the British Government expected from them in this
regard. Has the Home Secretary had any similar conversations with
the social media platforms about their responsibilities? And can
she inform the House whether her Department will continue the
review into police use of force, instituted by the Conservative
Government of which I was a member, to ensure that the police are
able to take firm action and clamp down on crime with all the
force that the law allows, without fear of being strung up for
years in endless investigations?
In government, we recruited 20,000 new police officers, but their
work will be hampered if they do not feel supported by the
Government when they take the firm action needed to keep the
people of this country safe. Violence has absolutely no place on
our streets. Anyone who engages in violent disorder or commits
violent crime must face the full force of the law, no matter who
they are. We will continue to hold the Government to account to
ensure that they deal with disorder swiftly, effectively, fairly
and even-handedly.
I welcome the shadow Home Secretary's words of support for the
Southport families and his reassertion that there can be no
excuse for violent disorder, but I have to say that the rest of
his response sounded an awful lot more like a pitch to Tory party
members in the middle of a leadership election than a serious
response to the scale of the disorder we saw and the need for a
serious policing response.
He asked about the strategic reserve—the “standing army”. We set
up the strategic reserve and it was in place for the second
weekend; we had thousands of police officers who were ready. We
did not use the old arrangements that we inherited from him,
where mutual aid had to be on call and stood up in a rush when it
was called for. We got the police public order officers ready and
deployed at strategic locations around the country, so they could
move fast and be where they were needed.
That goes to the heart of the problems we inherited from the
shadow Home Secretary and his predecessor. The central
co-ordination that he had left in place was far too weak. The
chief officers involved in trying to get mutual aid in place and
to co-ordinate intelligence had very weak infrastructure and
systems in place. They had not been supported over very many
years. In fact, some of his predecessors had tried to get rid of
a lot of the work of the National Police Coordination Centre.
Instead, our approach is to strengthen it. We believe that we
should strengthen central co-ordination and we will work with the
police to do so, which is why I have asked the inspectorate to
operate.
Secondly, the shadow Home Secretary referred to the issues around
social media. Seriously—his party delayed the Online Safety Act
2023 for years. The Secretary of State for Science, Innovation
and Technology, my right hon. Friend the Member for Hove and
Portslade (), has already been working
closely on putting more pressure on the social media companies,
but the shadow Home Secretary's party did nothing for years. It
is far too late for Members of his party to try to call for
action. And the review into police use of force is important and
will continue.
Finally, I have to say that the shadow Home Secretary is playing
games, undermining the credibility of the police. He is trying to
blame the Prime Minister for something that happened four years
ago—saying he is somehow responsible for the violent disorder on
our streets this summer—and undermining the credibility of police
officers. Each individual officer takes an oath to operate
without fear or favour. May I remind the right hon. Gentleman
that his predecessor as Home Secretary, the right hon. and
learned Member for Fareham and Waterlooville (), tried to undermine and
attack the credibility of the police in the run up to Armistice
Day? That is why we ended up with a bunch of thugs trying to get
to the Cenotaph to disrupt the service and launching violent
attacks on the police. The only reason the right hon. Gentleman
got the job of Home Secretary in the first place was because
everyone condemned his predecessor for her behaviour. I am so
sorry that he has decided, in a leadership election, to follow
her example—I really thought he was better than that.
(Hammersmith and Chiswick)
(Lab)
May I compliment the Home Secretary and the Lord Chancellor on
the robust response that the whole criminal justice system took
to the recent riots and violent disorder? Was my right hon.
Friend, like me, concerned about the number of very young
people—pre-teen, in some cases—who took part? What does she think
is the solution to rehabilitation and to preventing young people
of that age becoming involved in such disgraceful behaviour in
the future?
My hon. Friend makes an important point about the number of young
people involved. Some of them had a string of convictions—they
had history—but there were also young people who were drawn into
violence and disorder, sometimes antisocial behaviour and the
looting of shops, or sometimes into serious violence as well.
There is an important issue about how we prevent young people
getting drawn into violence and antisocial behaviour. That is one
of the reasons we are so determined to set up the Young Futures
programme, and one of the reasons we need to look at the online
radicalisation of young people as part of the extremism
review.
Madam Deputy Speaker ()
I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.
Mr (Orkney and Shetland)
(LD)
I thank the Home Secretary for advance sight of her statement. I
associate myself and my party with her comments of praise for the
bravery and professionalism of the police and the other emergency
services, which we saw throughout these disgraceful episodes.
This a moment for everyone in this House to make it clear which
side they are on. It simply is not credible for people to talk
about two-tier policing and then, in the next breath, say that
they also support the police. The Home Secretary is correct to
call out the disorder we have seen for what it is: thuggery,
racism and crime. We on the Liberal Democrat Benches support the
steps that she has announced, but does she agree that this
renders urgent the need to appoint an independent adviser on
Islamophobia, a post that has been vacant for the past two years,
and to have a formal definition of Islamophobia, in order to
underpin and inform Government policy across the board and across
all Departments?
I welcome the right hon. Member's support for the police and the
work they did, and for the importance of ensuring that these
kinds of crimes are not tolerated and the perpetrators should
face consequences. He is right that there were significant
attacks on mosques, which is why we brought forward the work on
mosque security. He is also right that we need to challenge
Islamophobia and anti-Muslim hate wherever it is found. The
Deputy Prime Minister is taking forward that work.
(Southport) (Lab)
The Home Secretary rightly started her statement by remembering
the victims of the horrific attack in my Southport constituency,
and I would like to take this opportunity to thank her for
that.
One of the most appalling aspects of the disorder we saw across
the country last month was that we continually heard the claim
from the thugs involved that they had been driven to commit their
acts of violence by the killing of little Bebe, Elise Dot and
Alice. That claim is a grotesque lie. No one is more furious
about that lie than the people of Southport, who wanted to just
be allowed to deal with their grief and anguish in their own way,
and to support the families of those who had been killed.
It is no surprise to me that some of the targets of the violence
were places of worship, a citizens advice bureau and a library.
These are the places where communities go to heal, and when they
are driven to improve each other and themselves. The thugs who
attacked those targets set their faces against community
self-improvement, so it is no surprise that those were the
targets they attacked.
For those who continue to propagate the lie that the thuggery we
saw came from justifiable concerns or that the actions of the mob
are somehow justified, will the Home Secretary reiterate that
what happened in Southport provides no justification at all for
anyone throwing bricks at the police, attacking people in their
own cars or burning down buildings with people inside them? For
anyone to pretend otherwise is too horrific for words.
I thank my hon. Friend for his powerful words on behalf of his
constituents. I thank him for standing up for the people of
Southport, including those families who have had to endure the
most unspeakable horror and who are still having to deal with the
consequences of what happened. He is absolutely right that no one
should ever use the terrible attack on three little girls as an
excuse for the kinds of violent disorder we have seen. I am so
sorry that the families and the community he represents have had
to endure not just the original attack, but people claiming to be
doing things in the name of Southport. Clearly, what those people
have been doing is not that, but simply crime.
Sir (New Forest East) (Con)
Does the Home Secretary agree that one reason why what might be
called her shock and awe policy successfully shut down the
violence so quickly was the speed with which the offenders were
brought before the courts and sentenced? And if she does agree
with that as a deterrent for the future, how can that model be
adapted in other areas of justice?
The right hon. Member makes an important point. There is no doubt
that the swift response from the police, the prosecution and the
criminal justice system had a strong impact and was clearly a
deterrent and an overwhelming signal to people that if they get
involved in disorder they will pay the price. The implicit point
in his question is that there are long delays in the criminal
justice system at the moment. We have often seen long delays in
prosecutions. We are keen to work closely on that. We want to see
better co-operation between policing and the Crown Prosecution
Service in order to remove some of the bureaucracy that is in
place and to speed up charges. We recognise there has been a lot
of damage to the criminal justice system. We need to tackle that
and turn it round, because that is fundamental to respect for the
rule of law.
(Brent East) (Lab)
May I just say what a powerful statement my hon. Friend the
Member for Southport () made? There is no excuse
for being racist or for using the innocent lives of Elsie, Alice
and Bebe. I thank the Home Secretary for mentioning Cher Maximen
and Mussie Imnetu. It is important that we are all mindful about
how we use language in this House, especially when we are
referring to immigration and migration. It is also important that
we talk not only about thuggery and racism, but about
Islamophobia. The rise in racism is frightening, and Love Music
Hate Racism is doing a lot of work around raging against hate. I
hope my right hon. Friend will help to encourage it in that work.
Does she agree that we do need stronger regulations around social
media companies?
I welcome my hon. Friend's points. One of the most troubling
things that we saw during those days of violent disorder was
people feeling fearful to be out on the streets because of the
colour of their skin. That should never happen in our country,
which is why we do have to challenge racism and extremism
wherever they are found. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of
State for Science, Innovation and Technology is bringing forward
measures under the Online Safety Act 2023 that will require
social media companies to take action where there is criminal
content. There has been considerable concern about criminal
content remaining online, and we need the social media companies
to take responsibility for that.
(Belfast East) (DUP)
Welcome to the Chair, Madam Deputy Speaker.
I agree with the Home Secretary's condemnation of violence.
Indeed, I suspect her unwillingness to open up this statement is
because she wants the voice of this House to be one of
condemnation of violence. She is right about that, and she will
know that the streets of Northern Ireland faced the same
difficulties as those in England over the course of the summer.
Almost 20 PSNI officers were injured on our streets. They
benefited from the mutual aid support from Police Scotland during
that time.
The Home Secretary is not responsible for policing in Northern
Ireland, but she is responsible for immigration policy throughout
the United Kingdom. May I ask her at some stage to indicate to
this House and to the country what steps she will take to repair
the damage wrought by the last Government through the Illegal
Migration Act 2023 and the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and
Immigration) Act 2024, which, for the first time, specifically do
not apply in Northern Ireland, following court judgment, because
of the Windsor framework. We no longer have a uniform immigration
policy in this country, so may I ask her as Home Secretary to
tell us what steps she will take to address that?
I join the right hon. Member in condemning the appalling violent
disorder that we saw on the streets of Belfast and in Northern
Ireland and in welcoming the support from Police Scotland and the
mutual aid that took place. He raises important issues about
immigration policy. I am happy to debate those and to talk to him
directly about them as it is important. There is a whole range of
areas where reforms will be needed. An important debate needs to
take place around border security, the asylum system, the way
immigration rules operate and so on. Those are all reforms that
this Government want to bring forward, but, quite simply, it is
important that no one should excuse the violent disorder that we
saw as somehow being related to issues about policy. Lots of
people have really strong views about immigration policy, but
they do not pick up bricks and throw them at the police.
Mr (Hartlepool) (Lab)
The violence that took place in my constituency of Hartlepool on
31 July was perpetrated by a minority of violent thugs. I would
like to place on record my thanks to the police, some of whom
ended up in hospital that evening as a result of defending their
town and the people who live there. It is undoubtedly the case
that the violence was fuelled by the lies and misinformation that
are largely, although not exclusively, perpetrated online. What
can the Home Secretary do to challenge and prevent the spread of
that misinformation, and also to clear the way to allow us to
have the wider debate about asylum and immigration that decent
hard-working people want to have free from these lies?
My hon. Friend is right that there has been continual
misinformation about this—often deliberate misinformation. Those
who made the decision to get involved in violent disorder—attacks
on the police, attacks on shops, the looting and the disgraceful
behaviour —have to take responsibility for their own actions.
They cannot blame things that they saw online for that.
Equally, we have also made it clear that what is criminal offline
is also criminal online. There is an important responsibility on
those posting online and also on the social media companies to
make sure that criminal content is taken down.
My hon. Friend is also right: we should be able to have a serious
debate about issues around immigration, asylum, and the stronger
border controls that this Government want to introduce, but that
is separate from the kind of violent disorder that we saw. Nobody
should use policy issues around crime, policing, or any other
issue as being an excuse for violence on our streets.
(Beaconsfield) (Con)
What percentage of these cases were dealt with by district judges
rather than lay magistrates, and where was that change made in
the CPS? And will those changes be applied to new disorders, for
example those committed by Extinction Rebellion or Just Stop Oil,
and will they be applied to the Manchester airport incident?
The hon. Member will know that decisions on charging and on which
courts take the decisions is not a matter for Government and
rightly so. Those are independent matters for the CPS and for the
courts and the judicial system. I am happy to write to her with
detailed information about the numbers of cases that have been
dealt with in the different courts, as I do not have that to
hand.
(Blackpool South) (Lab)
I wish to extend my gratitude to the Home Secretary for her
statement, and echo her acknowledgment of the remarkable courage
and dedication of the police. Last month, officers across the
country and in my constituency of Blackpool South faced
significant challenges as they bravely stood against a barrage of
projectiles, working diligently to protect our local mosque,
hotels and town centres from hateful extremists seeking to
disrupt our communities. Lancashire police were outstanding. They
stood tall and resolute in the face of diversity, just like I had
seen countless times when I was serving as deputy police and
crime commissioner. Will the Home Secretary join me in thanking
the police across our country, especially in Lancashire, and
acknowledge that we are fortunate to have such a dedicated, brave
and professional group of officers who are at the frontline
battling crime and disorder.
I welcome my hon. Friend's points, and put on record my strong
gratitude towards police officers across the country. I pay
tribute to them. Officers gave up their rest days and worked
additional overtime—they were particularly stretched during that
period in August—to ensure that we had enough
public-order-trained police on the streets. They did a remarkable
job, and all of us should show them our gratitude and
support.
(Perth and Kinross-shire)
(SNP)
We in Scotland are grateful that we were spared any of the
violence that we saw throughout the rest of the United Kingdom.
The Home Secretary says that she wants a debate. Does she accept
that the way that immigrants and asylum seekers have been
portrayed by a host of political voices has helped to foster,
foment and even encourage some of the scenes that we witnessed?
Those who have been whipping up this type of activity must be
held to account, as must those who peddled misinformation. Will
the Home Secretary also help that debate by talking a little more
positively about immigration? Stop demonising asylum seekers.
Will she encourage us to have that debate, but for it to be a
better debate?
I certainly think that we should have honest and practical
debates about issues, rather than debates that end up being lost
in rhetoric, and often lose sight of the facts and practical
issues. Some of what we saw was extremism, as well as local
criminals and thugs. Some people who had a violent history of
crime in the local area also got involved. To deal with the
disorder, we have to deal with all the different aspects and
origins of it.
Ms (Walthamstow) (Lab/Co-op)
I am grateful for the strong leadership that the Home Secretary
has shown on this. The truth is that these events did not happen
in a vacuum. That is why, after three days of distress and panic
in Walthamstow because somebody published a list suggesting that
thugs were going to come to our community, thousands of people
took to our streets. They stood with members of our local mosques
and churches, holding hands with them to keep them safe. They
helped businesses to board up their properties. We even had
knitters against Nazis.
As much as we are grateful for that solidarity, we in Walthamstow
know that the fear endures even after the immediate threat has
gone. That is the challenge that we have to deal with in this
place: those people who promote anger rather than answers to the
challenges that we face in our society. The Home Secretary talks
about a review. Can she set out what she actually means by
far-right extremism and such terms, because those details matter
in being able to have these debates and give confidence to the
communities that are targeted that we stand with them, as we did
in Walthamstow that day, and as we will do every day?
Nobody in Britain should ever feel afraid because of the colour
of their skin. That is the really troubling thing that we found
people saying and feeling as a result of the violent disorder
earlier in the summer. I have set up a review around countering
extremism. I have had concerns for a long time that not enough is
being done to counter extremism in this country. That means
far-right extremism, Islamist extremism, and some of the other
forms of changing extremism that do not fit necessarily into the
clear, more historical, categories.
There has been a definition that the Home Office has used for a
long time around “extreme right-wing” extremism, and some of the
issues online, but we also know that there are changing patterns,
particularly with online radicalisation. That is why the review
is so important. The last countering extremism strategy was set
out in 2015. So much has changed since then, especially around
online radicalisation. We need to tackle all forms of extremism
and violent hatred. It is so important to our wellbeing as a
democracy and who we are as a country. We have always stood
against that kind of extremism, and we must continue to do
so.
(Ashfield) (Reform)
The amount of stabbings and deaths by stabbings in this country
is reaching shocking levels. Over the past few weeks, the Home
Secretary and the Prime Minister have fast-tracked the violent
criminals in these riots, and got them into court and in prison
within two weeks. Is it not about time that we did the same with
these yobboes—these thugs—who are carrying knives?
I welcome the hon. Member's support for the speedy response from
the police and criminal justice system to the violence that we
saw on our streets. I agree that it is a serious problem that we
have inherited such long delays in the criminal justice system
and problems getting cases swiftly to court. Knife crime has
substantially increased in recent years, which is why the newly
elected Labour Government have made halving knife crime part of
our mission for safer streets across this country. We want
stronger action against young people who are caught and get drawn
into knife crime. We want a stronger Young Futures prevention
programme, and stronger action against online companies that
continue to make it far too easy to get hold of knives. We have
to take stronger action across the board to speed up processes
and ensure that there are consequences for knife crime.
(Nottingham East) (Lab)
The appalling racist riots may be over for now, but the ideology
behind them is a growing threat, both here and internationally.
In Germany, for example, the far right has just won a state
election for the first time since the second world war. Does the
Home Secretary agree that to prevent more people being won over
by the far right, our Government must deliver proper improvements
in living standards in order to combat disillusionment, and
refuse to march to the beat of the far right's drum on
immigration and Islamophobia?
Clearly, we want to see increasing living standards right across
the board. That is immensely important. We also need a serious
and sensible debate on a range of policies, including on crime,
immigration and other issues that the Home Office is responsible
for. We have to take much stronger action to counter the kinds of
online radicalisation that we have seen, whether we are talking
about far-right extremism or Islamist extremism. That is why we
are setting up a new review on countering extremism. We also have
to ensure that those committing disorder and violent crimes take
responsibility, because there is no excuse. No policy issue or
living standards can ever excuse the kind of violence, racist
attacks and disorder that we saw.
(Brighton Pavilion) (Green)
The ugly, racist mob violence in our towns and cities this summer
was incited and organised by far-right groups, often using
electronic platforms including Telegram and X. For example, on
Telegram, groups have distributed instructions for making petrol
bombs. Locations of hotels housing migrants and offices of
immigration lawyers were also shared. Elon Musk, the proprietor
of X, has greatly amplified some accounts that promote racist
violence in our cities, while failing to take action to remove
others. In the Home Secretary's response, will she look at
options for prosecuting those who own platforms that may have
enabled or committed crimes under section 2 of the Terrorism Act
2006?
The hon. Member will be aware that full implementation of the
Online Safety Act 2023 has been long delayed and is still needed.
One of the provisions of the Act is a requirement on social media
companies to remove illegal content. Many of the examples that
she raises are of illegal content that is still available online,
which is shocking and irresponsible. That is why we need the
speedy implementation of the Act, starting with the requirement
to remove criminal content. Social media companies should also
take much broader responsibility for ignoring their own terms and
conditions, their responsibility towards communities and public
safety. They need to take that more seriously.
Several hon. Members rose—
Madam Deputy Speaker ()
Can I encourage Members to ask short questions and the Home
Secretary to make answers shorter, as I would like to get
everyone in?
(Bassetlaw) (Lab)
I am grateful to the Home Secretary for her statement. I agree
with her point that it is perfectly possible to have a debate in
our country about immigration and many other issues without
resorting to looting shops, attacking minority groups and
throwing bricks at police. In my constituency, I regularly have
conversations with local people who feel that net migration is
too high, and who worry about the cost of asylum hotels and the
number of people entering our country illegally. In electing me,
they have elected an MP who is prepared to raise those issues in
Parliament and work with the Government to address them. Does the
Home Secretary agree that that is how a democratic country like
ours should operate, rather than a bunch of hooligans using those
subjects as an excuse to smash up shops, burn cars and attack the
police?
My hon. Friend is exactly right. We can all have an important
debate in this place—the kind of debate that people have in
communities across the country—about the issues that she raises
around net migration and border control. Most of us across the
country talk about all those issues and work out what actions and
policies are needed. There is no excuse for taking the kind of
violent action that we have seen, and attacking police officers,
whose very job is to keep us safe.
Mr (East Londonderry)
(DUP)
At the start of the trouble in Northern Ireland, I went to our
Deputy First Minister and got her, with the help of the local
health trust, to visit our local hospital, where we were able to
offer some form of reassurance to people, of whatever background
and every country of origin, that they had our total support.
Does the Home Secretary agree that that is a good, positive way
to approach this? Does she also agree that we must identify and
speak about the issues that many people have with illegal
immigration, and try to ensure that we do not see in this country
what we have seen in countries across the EU?
The hon. Member is right that in this country, we have always had
people come together and work together to tackle problems and
debate issues. The people responsible for this violence and these
attacks, including on our police officers, do not speak for the
United Kingdom—they really do not. They do not speak for any part
of the UK, and we should never let them do so.
(Poplar and Limehouse)
(Ind)
For too long, Muslims have been scapegoated for the failings of
the political and economic system by the same type of politics
that led to the hostile environment for migrants. Can the Home
Secretary outline the steps that she will take to ensure that any
measures that arise from the rapid review of extremism do not
perpetuate or extend harm to the very communities—Muslims and
migrants—who have been the primary target of the far right's
violence?
The hon. Member makes an important point. The whole purpose of
the review on countering extremism is to make sure that we tackle
the kinds of extremism that we have seen grow in this country in
recent years. That includes far-right extremism, Islamist
extremism, the violent Islamophobia and attacks that we have
seen, and concerns around antisemitic attacks. We have to make
sure that we do so, and it is immensely important that we work
with the communities who are often the most affected by extremism
and the damage that it can do.
(North Antrim) (TUV)
I join in the condemnation of the thuggery and violence that we
all saw and deplored, but can I take the Home Secretary back to
the point to which the right hon. Member for Belfast East () alluded? Is she
comfortable with the fact that under the Windsor framework, any
immigration policy that she devises must pass through the filter
of EU law, and be subject to its requirements? As long as that
prevails, how can a Home Secretary implement a national policy?
Will she act with this Government to set aside what they
inherited from the Tory Government: the loss of sovereignty over
immigration—and so many other matters, as far as Northern Ireland
is concerned?
There will be many opportunities in this House to talk about the
details of immigration policy—I will certainly do that—and I am
very happy to discuss further with the hon. Gentleman issues such
as border security and wider immigration policy, but this
statement is about the violent disorder that we saw this summer,
how we ensure that it cannot be repeated, and the reforms in
place to address that.
(Peterborough) (Lab)
I welcome the strong leadership that this Government and Home
Secretary have shown. Even though Peterborough avoided the
right-wing thuggery that many places saw earlier this summer,
despite the best efforts of online misinformation and rumours,
the events of the summer cast a long shadow on communities and
constituencies like mine. I put on record my thanks to
Peterborough's Joint Mosques Council, Community First and
Peterborough's community group, as well as the police and council
officers who worked around the clock to keep businesses and
communities safe. Can the Home Secretary give confidence and
comfort to communities like mine that, in the weeks and months
ahead, we will continue to tackle extremism, Islamophobia and
anti-Muslim hatred? This is not just about this summer; those
problems have been rising over recent years and are at the source
of the issue that we need to tackle.
My hon. Friend is right. That is why the Deputy Prime Minister is
taking forward work around community cohesion. We should also
recognise that, right across the country, the overwhelming
majority of people were truly appalled by what we saw from a
small minority of people. The action that we took was important,
because it meant that the small minority involved in disorder
faced consequences, but they do not speak for Britain, and
certainly not for my hon. Friend's community.
(Strangford) (DUP)
I thank the Home Secretary for her statement, her clear, strong
leadership and her swift action. Well done, Home Secretary. That
is what every MP and people across this great nation wish to see.
In Northern Ireland, we remained untouched by the unrest seen on
the mainland, but I will just say this about Newtownards.
Sometimes it is easy to focus on the negatives, but there are
positives as well: people of all religions and political
persuasions came together as one and stood together against what
happened. We have to take some encouragement from that.
With regard to community tensions, it is essential that everyday
people who have legitimate concerns about illegal immigration are
not drawn into situations that become less about the right to
display disapproval and protest, and more about violence. How
will the Government seek to ensure that those with legitimate
concerns are heard, and that those whose intent is simply to
disrupt and destroy are dealt with appropriately?
I welcome the points that the hon. Member makes and his
recognition of the seriousness of, and the damage done by, the
violent disorder. He is right that most people in the country
want a serious debate about the importance of net migration
coming down. We have been clear about our view on that, and about
why we need stronger border security. We also need to recognise
that most people across the country want stronger border
controls, and for the UK to continue to do its bit to help those
who have fled persecution and conflict, but they want the rules
to be properly respected and enforced, and those who do not have
a right to be in the UK properly returned.
There is a whole series of proper issues around immigration that
we should debate. Most people want to be part of that debate; the
overwhelming majority do not want to go anywhere near this kind
of violence and thuggery, because that is not the kind of country
we are. Those are not the values that most people in this country
have. As the hon. Member says, most of us want to come together
to support each other, and to have serious debates, not attack
police officers and communities.
(Liverpool Riverside)
(Lab)
I start by extending my condolences to the family, friends and
loved ones of the three little girls murdered in Southport.
Liverpool has a very proud history of fighting right-wing
terrorism on the streets of our city. However, the diverse
communities of my Liverpool Riverside constituency, particularly
those who are visibly black and Muslim, are still very anxious
about going out, due to the rise in racism and Islamophobia. My
right hon. Friend mentioned the Deputy Prime Minister's work on
community cohesion. I would be grateful if she confirmed whether
local authorities like mine will receive additional funding to
undertake that work.
The Deputy Prime Minister will be working with local councils
across the country on what we need to do to improve cohesion. She
and I have discussed many times the importance of these issues
and of working alongside each other. The Home Office will lead
the work on countering extremism, and her Department—the Ministry
of Housing, Communities and Local Government—leads the work on
strengthening community cohesion with local councils. My hon.
Friend is exactly right: we cannot have a situation where people
feel afraid or at risk on the streets of this country because of
the colour of their skin or their religion. That is why it is so
important that the two programmes on cohesion and extremism work
in parallel.
(Crewe and Nantwich)
(Lab)
Does the Home Secretary agree that those who suggest that this
country has some form of two-tier policing serve only to
undermine our brave frontline police officers, who put themselves
at risk every single day to maintain order, and that anybody who
suggests that does not do so in our country's name or
traditions?
My hon. Friend makes an important point. Police officers in this
country take an oath when they become officers to operate without
fear or favour. They work immensely hard, right across the
country, to uphold that. Rightly, we have operational
independence for policing. Those claims have been used by those
who want somehow to legitimise attacks on the police, who work so
hard to keep us safe. It is wrong to make those claims. We should
support and work with the police to raise standards across
policing and to ensure that they can continue to keep our
communities safe.
(Rother Valley) (Lab)
The scenes outside a hotel in Wath over the summer took place
just a few miles away from my constituency. A group of rioters
set a hotel on fire, knowing full well that innocent people were
inside, including a constituent of mine who was being housed
there with her children, under the statutory responsibilities of
the local authority, as she had recently been made homeless.
Local police officers worked 20-hour shifts to keep her safe. The
day after the riots, local people attended to clear up the
rubble, and in the weeks after community groups, like the
Dinnington community boxing club, organised events to show unity
and solidarity in the face of violence. Does the Home Secretary
agree that that, and not the acts of those mindless thugs who
attacked the hotel in Wath, is the true spirit of South
Yorkshire?
My hon. Friend makes an important point and speaks powerfully for
his constituency. I am so sorry that his constituent was affected
by the violence in that way. He is right to talk about the true
spirit of South Yorkshire and the communities that come together.
Right across our coalfield communities, there is a spirit of
solidarity—of really strong communities pulling together and not
standing for such violence and thuggery.
(Sunderland Central)
(Lab)
My constituents were appalled by the criminal disorder that we
saw on our streets at the start of August, which was in no way
representative of our city. The contrast between thugs who
preferred destruction and the decent law-abiding majority was
clear in our community's response—be it Northumbria police
officers standing up and protecting our communities in the face
of attacks; the hundreds of residents of every race and religion
turning up the day after to sweep away not just the shards of
glass, but the shards of hatred that had been sown the night
before; or the Sunderland citizens advice bureau refusing to let
the arson attack prevent it from providing services. Will the
Home Secretary join me in praising the response of the people of
Sunderland and of similar communities across the country, and
does she agree that we should build upon their example as we look
to strengthen community cohesion in the future?
My hon. Friend is exactly right. He speaks strongly for the
people of Sunderland, who came together. Volunteers ensured that
the citizens advice bureau could keep working to support local
people who are vulnerable and need advice and help. They have
worked with the police and local communities, and they speak not
just for Sunderland but for the whole of Britain.
(Manchester Rusholme) (Lab)
I thank the Home Secretary for the statement and for the swift
action taken during the violent disorder to reassure mosques and
Muslim communities that blatant Islamophobia will not be
tolerated. She announced rapid access to the protective security
scheme for mosques, which was welcomed by mosques across the UK,
to help them provide additional security when needed. Can she
confirm how many mosques have accessed that funding, and what
proactive engagement the Home Office has had with mosques and
Muslim organisations to support them in their funding
applications?
My hon. Friend makes an important point about the emergency
procedure that we brought in to accelerate support and security
provisions for mosques. Frankly, everybody has the right the feel
safe at their place of worship, without fear of attack. I will
send him further details on the precise numbers, but dozens of
mosques came forward and were provided with swift support to
ensure that they had security in place under the accelerated
procedure. It is important that Muslim communities feel safe.
(Bournemouth West) (Lab)
I am grateful to the Home Secretary for her statement and welcome
the range of police reforms that she outlined. I thank Dorset
police for their rapid and proactive work with local residents,
community groups, mosques, protesters and counter-protesters to
prevent two organised protests in Bournemouth town centre from
descending into the type of violent disorder that we saw in other
parts of the country. It will take time to roll out those police
reforms—I hope they include reform of the funding formula, which
currently does not recognise the seasonal challenges that we face
every year in Bournemouth—but does she agree that we are lucky to
have such dedicated and professional police forces on the
frontlines, preventing crime and disorder with limited
resources?
My hon. Friend makes an important point about the tradition of
British policing, of which I think we should feel proud. The idea
that the police should operate without fear or favour, that they
are operationally independent, and that the police are the public
and the public are the police—the tradition of policing by
consent—stretches back to Peel. That is why the drop in
confidence in policing over recent years is a real challenge, why
the Government are determined to turn it around and work with the
police to rebuild confidence in policing, and why we will
continue to support the police, including with more neighbourhood
policing. We should feel proud of and support the British
policing model.
(Middlesbrough and Thornaby
East) (Lab)
I thank the Home Secretary for her statement. She will be aware
that the riots, which sought to exploit the Southport killings
for a racist and Islamophobic agenda, included one in
Middlesbrough that saw homes, businesses and vehicles damaged in
a predominantly Asian and Muslim area, where thugs created
roadblocks that allowed only white British drivers to pass. That
racist violence caused real fear, resulting in the postponement
of the Middlesbrough Mela, the premier celebration of
multiculturalism in the north-east. The community, which so
magnificently cleaned up the mess, refuses to be cowed, so the
mela will go ahead this coming weekend. Will the Home Secretary
join me in welcoming the restoration of the Middlesbrough Mela,
as well as all mela events held across the country, as important
demonstrations of working-class communities enjoying and
celebrating our diversity?
I am glad to hear my hon. Friend's description of the way in
which communities come together to celebrate. It is distressing
to hear about the fear that was created and the community events
that were delayed because of it. I thank him for continuing to
champion his constituents throughout the violent disorder that we
saw in Middlesbrough. He and I have spoken about the things that
happened, and I thank him for standing up for his
constituents.
(East Kilbride and Strathaven)
(Lab)
There has been much discussion of the role that social media
played in fuelling the violent disorder that we have seen on our
streets. Many of the extremists were swiftly arrested and
charged; does my right hon. Friend agree that those who spread
pernicious and poisonous online lies should also share
responsibility for the disorder that we have seen, and that
online thugs who deliberately stir up hatred and division should
have been similarly punished? If not, what does she think can be
done about this increasingly wicked online behaviour?
My hon. Friend is right: we have seen deliberate attempts to
radicalise people or promote extremism online, including on
social media platforms, and we have seen illegal content not
taken down. Obviously, incitement and encouragement of serious
violence and racial hatred offline has been a criminal offence in
this country for many years, but what is criminal offline is also
criminal online. People need to take responsibility for the
crimes they commit, which is why we have taken this behaviour so
seriously, and why we are so clear that the Online Safety Act
2023 needs to be implemented to make sure that the social media
companies take some responsibility for criminal content
online.
(Welwyn Hatfield) (Lab)
Last month, Elon Musk fanned the flames of violent disorder. He
personally amplified extremist accounts and, shamefully, even
said that he believed our country was heading for “civil war”.
Some 10 months previously, the leader of the Conservative party
invited Elon Musk to Downing Street, and in a stunt, they even
superimposed his new logo on to the front of Downing Street. Does
my right hon. Friend agree that that was a major error of
judgment by the Conservative party, and that Elon Musk has no
interest in our democracy—only in himself?
There is an important point here, which is that the social media
companies and their owners need to take some responsibility for
the criminal content that appears on their platforms, but also
for the way that they operate—for the way that their algorithms
operate, and how they can be used and manipulated by extremists.
As for misjudgments by the Conservative party, there are too many
to list now.
Madam Deputy Speaker ()
I thank the Home Secretary for that statement.
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