Sir Keir Starmer has rejected calls for Parliament to be recalled in the face of rioting on Britain’s streets.
The Prime Minister said he was focused on ensuring police are able to carry out their duties, as MPs from across the political spectrum demanded Parliament return from its summer recess.
Former home secretary Dame Priti Patel, Labour MPs including Diane Abbott and Dawn Butler, and Reform UK leader Nigel Farage have all called for the Commons to cut short the recess after the country endured another night of violence on Sunday.
Addressing the calls for a Commons return after an emergency Cobra meeting held to deal with the riots, Sir Keir said: “My focus is on ensuring we have got the right people carrying out their duties to ensure that our streets are safe.
“For the public, that is the first duty of Government and that is where my absolute focus is.”
Pressed on the matter, the Prime Minister added: “My focus is on making sure that we stop this disorder, that the criminal sanctions are swift and be seen to be followed.”
Speaking to Times Radio, Tory leadership contender Dame Priti said the country is seeing “extraordinary criminality”.
She said: “We now need to, in my view, as politicians, get some kind of grip on this, which is why I am calling for the recall of Parliament right now so that we can actually discuss these issues.”
Dame Priti compared the situation to the 2011 riots, when Parliament was recalled to debate the response to disorder, adding there are “many practical things” that can be achieved by recalling MPs.
She said: “Local authorities are now under pressure, the police are under pressure to do more effectively, we need to find out what more do they need.”
But her leadership rival James Cleverly, the shadow home secretary, suggested recalling Parliament is not necessary provided there is a “fast” and “clear” flow of information to MPs.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “There’s nothing that needs to be voted on, there are no additional powers (needed).”
Several backbench Labour MPs have also urged the recall of Parliament.
Veteran MP Ms Abbott told the BBC that Parliament should be recalled because MPs “don’t know” what ministers are doing to tackle the riots.
She said: “This is an extraordinarily grave situation. You’ve got people trying to burn down hostels where asylum seekers are cowering. You’ve got people attacking black and Muslim people on the street.
“We need to be able to question ministers on what exactly is being done and we want to speak up for our communities. These are racist anti-immigrant riots, and we need proper debate and proper analysis in the House of Commons.”
Brent East MP Ms Butler said: “It may be time to recall Parliament. This violence needs to stop.
“PM is right arrests must be swift. We must also tackle the causes of this violence which is as simple as it is complex. Some uncomfortable truths must be addressed.”
Other MPs such as Ian Byrne and Zarah Sultana simply tweeted “Recall Parliament”.
Also demanding the recall of Parliament, Mr Farage said the country needs to have “a more honest debate” about immigration, integration and policing to “give people the confidence that there are political solutions that are relevant to them”.
Shabna Begum, chief executive of the Runnymede Trust which explores race equality and civil rights, said MPs meeting again could “effect a co-ordinated political response which gets to the root of this violence”.
She said: “The framing of this national crisis from British media and our politicians is part of the reason this violence has been festering for such a long time.
“Turning this into a discussion about integration betrays the communities that have been the victims of this violence and further normalises racist narratives which scapegoat Muslims, migrants and people of colour.
“Language matters, and insisting on reporting racist rioters as ‘protesters’ and ‘demonstrators’ is a gross misrepresentation of the violence impacting communities of colour across the UK.”
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman did not rule out recalling Parliament, but said the Government’s focus was “to ensure that communities are kept safe, to ensure that people who have participated in this violent disorder face the full force of the law”.
Parliament has only been recalled from recess six times in the past decade – once in 2016 to pay tribute to Labour MP Jo Cox after her murder by a far-right terrorist, on three occasions in 2020 and 2021 to debate issues related to the pandemic, again in April 2021 to pay tribute to the Duke of Edinburgh after his death, and most recently in August 2021 after the fall of Kabul.
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