Sir Keir Starmer has convened an emergency Cobra meeting as riots across the UK saw police clash with crowds this weekend.
Escalating violence continued in cities throughout the country in a sixth day of disorder which saw rioters storm hotels, one week on from the fatal stabbing of three children in Southport.
Ministers and police chiefs will meet in Downing Street today to discuss the response for the coming days and how to prevent further unrest, while courts prepare to take cases.
The Prime Minister spoke out on Sunday, warning perpetrators they would “regret” engaging in “far-right thuggery” and promising they would “face the full force of the law”.
He said: “I utterly condemn the far-right thuggery we have seen this weekend… Charges will follow. And convictions will follow.
“This is not protest. It is organised, violent thuggery. And it has no place on our street or online.
A car burns on Parliament Road, in Middlesbrough, during an anti-immigration protest. Picture date: Sunday August 4, 2024. PA Photo. See PA story POLICE Southport . Photo credit should read: Owen Humphreys/PA Wire
“Our police deserve our support, as they tackle any and all violent disorder… whatever the apparent cause or motivation… crime is crime. And this government will tackle it.
While home secretary Yvette Cooper said the courts are on “stand-by” to ensure “swift justice”.
It came as MPs from across the political spectrum demanded the recall of Parliament in the face of rioting on Britain’s streets.
Figures including former Conservative home secretary Dame Priti Patel, Labour MPs including veteran Diane Abbott and Brent MP Dawn Butler, and Reform UK leader Nigel Farage all called for the Commons to cut short its recess.
Cooper told LBC Parliament would not be recalled “right now” but insisted the government was “keeping in close contact with MPs”.
Parliament has only been recalled from recess six times in the past decade, including after Labour MP Jo Cox’s murder in 2016, the Duke of Edinburgh’s death and during Covid.