Keir Starmer must bring far-right agitators to heel over race riots

Contrasting scenes from the past few days. One is of thugs in Rotherham rolling a flaming wheelie bin into the doorway of a hotel housing asylum seekers. The other is of Tommy Robinson, reclining on a sun lounger in Cyprus reading US conspiracy theorist and Donald Trump supporter Patrick Byrne’s memoir, Danger Close . Or another pair: one of rioters in Middlesbrough setting up a road block and demanding drivers reveal if they are “white and English”; another of Robinson, real name Stephen Christopher Yaxley-Lennon, on the same sunbed, this time hunched over his mobile phone. The UK far-right leader had posted on X, ahead of Sunday’s violence: “The time is now …” The parallels between what is unfolding in the UK and the scenes in the US, on Capitol Hill on January 6, 2021, are striking. The same wanton destruction, same heightened violence against the police and authorities, the same declarations of patriotism and hatred of the left and immigrants. The vandals even look the same, albeit with different national flags tied around their shoulders. And in the background are the orchestrators, studying the same texts while guiding their stormtroopers. In the UK, the trigger was the stabbings of little girls at a dance class in Southport . As news of the atrocious event spread, social media was awash with untrue claims that the perpetrator was an illegal migrant and Muslim. It’s apparent now that the riots would have occurred regardless. This just happened to be the catalyst that Robinson and his associates were waiting for. Thankfully, the allegations were false as doubtless the subsequent violence would have been far worse and more widespread. As it is, the thuggery – protests does not seem an appropriate description since there is little legitimate protesting taking place – has occurred all over the country and is continuing. Caught unawares, packing up for the holidays, the government was at first slow to react. Now, it appears to be moving quickly, although we are still waiting for the courts to hand down the promised tough sentences. Until they do there is precious little sign of a deterrent. Britain’s creaking criminal justice system must step up. Prime Minister Keir Starmer , taken aback at the level of thuggery directed at the police, has faced a dilemma. It would be very tempting to send in the army and invite troops to respond as they know how and are trained to do. However, that would be interpreted as a loss of control. Nevertheless, the police at present look underpowered and vulnerable. His solution has been to announce the creation of a “standing army” of police specially trained in maintaining public order. So, an army in other words but not the military type. How that will operate when the rioting is in different areas, hundreds of kilometres apart, remains to be seen. Just as the US government moved against the Capitol Hill rioters, they also arrested those who remained out of sight, the ringleaders. That must happen here. Robinson and his pals must not be allowed to be at large, with access to social media. That brings us to the question of X and Elon Musk . His tweet that “civil war is inevitable”, sent after watching footage of riots in Liverpool, must condemn him. That, plus his repeated support for Robinson and allowing the posting of untruths, cannot be allowed to continue. Surely the moment has come for everything regulatory to be directed against Musk and X. Timing-wise, the Online Safety Bill presents an opportunity to create an effective weapon. If needs be it ought to be strengthened and passed into law, and acted on – all in double-quick time. Musk should be made subject to financial and legal scrutiny. He and X must be brought to heel. There is a sense of the police, politicians, officials, ministers sleepwalking into this crisis. But, as Southport provided the spark, so should the riots serve to galvanise. It’s been obvious for some time that Robinson and Co have a feeding ground in areas of white deprivation. Mostly, but by no means exclusively, in the post-industrial North and Midlands, these are districts populated by people who feel they have no future, no meaningful career prospects. Their education and life chances have been minimal. They regard themselves as betrayed and ignored, let down by successive councils and central governments. Yes, many of them are pure thugs, who are just as happy fighting at football matches. When questioned about their behaviour, the football hooligans say they do it because they can, they’re letting off steam, it’s enjoyable. There is no higher objective. They aren’t seeking to make their voices heard, there was no voice. Likewise, in the last set of mass riots in the UK in 2011, they began with opposition to the shooting dead by police of a well-known criminal and escalated into wholesale looting. On this occasion as well, looters have kicked in shop windows and ransacked the shelves. This, though, feels different. Here their enemy is the left, liberals, human rights lawyers (police fear they are in danger of being singled out), police and authorities, and people of colour. There is an element of mindless hatred at work, and of blind, bigoted racism. But there is also a degree of violence that is shocking and it’s accompanied by a total disregard for their own protection – they know there is CCTV everywhere, they know that while they wear masks, in some cases it will not be enough and they will be identified. They must be aware that they face long jail sentences. Yet they appear not to be concerned. It’s similar to the gang-on-gang incidents in London and other cities. There, knifings and shootings are often played out on camera. Sometimes they make attempts at disguise, frequently they do not. The police clear-up rate suggests they will be caught and receive prison terms running into decades. Nevertheless, they do not seem unduly bothered and the killings occur. That suggests a degree of uncaring that is beyond anything seen before. Same with these rioters. They have no social parameters, no life guides. What they see is immigrants put up in a smart hotel in the centre, and given clothing and meals. What they witness as well is “two-tier” policing, that demonstrators over the bombing of Gaza and Black Lives Matter were treated, as Robinson cleverly claims, relatively leniently. All he has to do is keep pointing out what he maintains is the injustice, stoke the flames and sit back. Years of neglect have brought us to this. At the ballot box it has resulted in huge swings as those same places went one way, then the other, as the “Northern Wall” sought understanding and assistance. Less legitimately, on the streets, it’s tipped over into direct action. In London, the government must get a grip but also take a hard look in the mirror, at the messages it sends and the support it provides.