Sir Keir Starmer has been criticised for “dithering and delaying” his response to the riots and failing to recall MPs to Parliament.
The Prime Minister finally held an emergency COBRA meeting with cabinet ministers, police chiefs and prison chiefs on Monday to discuss a strategy to tackle the unrest.
But senior Tories questioned why she had not done so until six days after violence first erupted in Southport following the mass stabbing of children at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class.
Robert Jenrick, one of the front-runners in the Tory leadership race, told the Mail: ‘Sir Keir has dithered and delayed for six days of escalating lawlessness before calling in COBRA and treating this security emergency with the seriousness it needed.
‘He criticised Boris Johnson five times for failing to attend COBRA meetings at the start of the pandemic, only to fail to even host one as Britain burned.
Sir Keir Starmer has been criticised for “dithering and delaying” his response to the riots and failing to recall MPs to Parliament.
Robert Jenrick, one of the front-runners in the Tory leadership race, told the Mail: “Sir Keir has dithered and delayed for six days of escalating lawlessness before calling in COBRA and treating this security emergency with the seriousness it needed.”
“Captain Hindsight strikes again.”
Captain Hindsight was the nickname Johnson gave Sir Keir during clashes in the House of Commons over the latter’s criticism of his Covid response.
Referring to Sir Keir’s plans to go on holiday in the coming days, a source close to Mr Jenrick added: “The Prime Minister was too busy looking for [flights website] Skyscanner as unrest gripped the country on Friday night.’
It was unclear last night whether the Prime Minister would go ahead with his holiday plans.
Former Home Secretary James Cleverly, another leadership candidate, told Times Radio: ‘When the Government gets things right I will support them, because this issue is absolutely key.
‘But I’m also concerned that they were slow. When you’re in the opposition, you get into the habit of thinking about what you’re going to say.
‘When you’re in government, you have to decide what you’re going to do. They need to be much more proactive.’
Sir Keir also faced mounting pressure to recall Parliament, which went into recess last week for the summer break.
Former Home Secretary Dame Priti Patel has called for Parliament to be dismissed.
The violence has continued for six days but Sir Keir Starmer only held his first COBRA meeting today, prompting accusations he has “delayed” action.
In a letter to the Prime Minister, former Home Secretary Dame Priti Patel said: “Either we believe in the rule of law or we don’t. That is why the House of Commons needs to be recalled.”
He said recalling Parliament after the riots in the summer of 2011 “gave politicians the opportunity to come together to oppose violence and address the problems exposed by those events.”
He added: ‘Recalling Parliament will provide the House with an opportunity for MPs, including those from the affected constituencies, to make their views known and seek assurances from the Government.
“The public needs assurances about the steps the Government is taking to restore order to our streets, and the House of Commons is the forum where this should happen.”
Dame Priti added that MPs needed answers as to why the Prime Minister did not appear to order police to take additional measures – such as cancelling licences – to ensure officer numbers were high enough.
Shortly after Sir Keir’s first COBRA meeting on the crisis yesterday, he announced that a “standing army of specialist police officers” has been prepared to be deployed wherever additional resources are needed.
He said he had called for “prompt consideration to name and identify as quickly as possible those involved” in the riots, so that they feel “the full force of the law.”
He also insisted there were enough prison spaces after more than 400 arrests were made.
This is despite his Justice Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, warning last month that prisons were “a few hundred places away from collapse”.
The government has passed legislation allowing for the early release of thousands of prisoners to ease the crisis, but this will not begin until September.
Sir Keir said: “I am appalled that the previous government put us in this position, but we will make this work and ensure we have the necessary places in place to bring the perpetrators to justice.”
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman rejected criticism of the Government’s response, saying: “He called together Cabinet ministers over the weekend and chaired a COBRA meeting, and the Government – whether it be the Prime Minister or the Home Secretary – has been working around the clock to address the mess we have seen in recent days.”
He added that the armed forces have not been called because the police have said they do not need the assistance.
