Ex-Home Secretary Dame Priti Patel has slammed Labour for being ‘breathtakingly complacent’ after riots tore through Sunderland last night.
Taking to X (formerly Twitter), the Witham MP called Parliament to be recalled with immediate effect, adding: ‘We either believe in the rule of law, or we do not.’
Sunderland is the latest city to be hit which has seen devastating riots throughout the country, as Britain braces itself for further chaos today in the wake of the Southport stabbings.
In anticipation, jail cells have been cleared and lawyers have been placed on standby as 35 rallies have been planned in towns and cities across the UK, as fears emerge scenes of vehicles being set alight and police being attacked could be repeated.
The former cabinet minister took to social media branding Labour’s actions ‘troubling and inadequate’ whilst urging for stronger protections against protests.
Ex-Home Secretary Dame Priti Patel has slammed Labour for being ‘breathtakingly complacent’ in the wake of chaotic riots in recent weeks
She has urged Labour to recall Parliament with immediate effect adding: ‘We either believe in the rule of law, or we do not’ (pictured: Sir Keir Starmer)
The Dame also encouraged government to use the powers of the Police Crime and Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 to ‘their maximal extent’
Her statement read: ‘The events we have witnessed overnight in Sunderland were totally unacceptable.
‘As they were in Southport earlier this week and in Harehills in Leeds a fortnight ago.
‘We should never excuse, or be apologists for, disorder whoever is responsible. Violence and thuggery is always unacceptable.’
Stating there was no ‘exception’ for such chaos, she added: ‘Politicians on all sides must be willing to stand up and say so.
‘Saying the nation is “braced for disorder” is not only breathtakingly complacent, but both troubling and inadequate.
She continued: ‘The Government is now in danger of appearing to be swept away with events rather than maintaining control of them.’
Referencing her Police Crime and Sentencing and Courts Act 2022, the former Home Secretary urged the current Government to use its powers to ‘their maximal extent’.
‘Now is a moment for national reflection and solidarity – to pull back from the wave of violence we have seen, to call it out for what it is – without fear or favour,’ she wrote.
‘And for Parliament to speak with one voice in condemnation. We either believe in the rule of law, or we do not. That is why Parliament must be recalled immediately.’
SUNDERLAND: An Enough is Enough protest in Sunderland saw scenes of carnage in the city yesterday
SUNDERLAND: More than 35 rallies are planned in towns and cities across the UK today, after more riots broke out in Sunderland last night
SUNDERLAND: A burnt-out shell of a car that was torched in the riots last night is pictured
HARTLEPOOL: A police car was torched by protesters as anger mounts over the Southport stabbings earlier this week
HARTLEPOOL: Rioters broke down a fence as violence erupted in Britain for the second night running on Wednesday night
Axel Rudakubana (pictured as a child) is charged with murdering three little girls and harming 10 others at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport with a ‘curved kitchen knife’
Elsie Dot Stancombe, aged seven, was also fatally wounded in the attack which shocked the nation on Monday, as misinformation online triggered riots after the tragedy
Bebe King, aged six, was also killed in the attack by the teenager in Southport
Alice Dasilva Aguiar, aged nine, was one of three children killed by a knifeman at a Taylor-Swift themed dance class in Southport
Droves of angry mobs have descended on Manchester, London, Hartlepool and more recently Sunderland this past week.
The riots this week are thought to be triggered by misinformation spread online as to the identity of the teenager suspected of killing Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine.
Axel Rudakubana, 17, who was born in Cardiff to Rwandan parents, was eventually named.
Following carnage which erupted in Sunderland last night, two police officers remain in hospital and eight suspects have been apprehended for various offences, including violent disorder and burglary.
