UK Politics

Support trulyindependent journalismFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorAnyone whipping up violence online will face “the full force of the law”, Sir Keir Starmer has said, as the Technology Secretary said social media firms providing “a platform for this hate” must go further in tackling it.Downing Street also condemned Elon Musk for claiming “civil war is inevitable” in the UK, and suggested that online misinformation fuelling disorder on Britain’s streets may be being amplified by foreign state actors.After chairing an emergency Cobra meeting on Monday morning, the Prime Minister stressed that “the criminal law applies online as well as offline”.There is more that they (social media firms) can and should be doing… to counter misleading and inflammatory material hosted on their platformsSpokesman for Prime Minister Sir Keir StarmerThe police, Home Office, Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and the National Crime Agency are working to tackle criminality online and to ensure people are prosecuted for online criminal activity, according to a read-out of the Westminster gathering.The Prime Minister’s spokesman told reporters: “Anyone who stokes this violence, whether on the internet or in person, can be prosecuted and face prison.”Technology Secretary Peter Kyle said the Government is working with social media giants to ensure they are not promoting inflammatory content.In a statement on X, formerly Twitter, Mr Kyle said: “The internet cannot be a haven for those looking to sow division in our communities. Responsibility for harmful social media content principally rests with the individuals and groups who create it.“But it is undeniable that social media has provided a platform for this hate. We have been clear with these companies they also have a responsibility not to peddle the harm of those who seek to damage and divide our society, and we are working closely with them to ensure they meet that responsibility.”No 10 also warned that action by social media firms to tackle harmful material “doesn’t go far enough”.Sir Keir’s spokesman said: “The Government is working with social media platforms to ensure that they are removing content quickly, that their processes are in place.“But there is more that they can and should be doing, as I think the Prime Minister has said, to counter misleading and inflammatory material hosted on their platforms.“They have a responsibility to ensure the safety of their users and online spaces to ensure that criminal activity is not being posted on their platforms. They shouldn’t be waiting for the Online Safety Act for that.”Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer warned against illegal online activities related to the rioting and disorder (Henry Nicholls/PA) More

Support trulyindependent journalismFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorThere are no plans to mobilise the Army to quell the escalating violence on Britain’s streets, the defence secretary has said. The former first minister of Scotland Humza Yousaf has called for troops to be used to stop “thugs” following appalling scenes in Hull, Halifax, Liverpool, London, Southport and Rotherham. But ministers have so far insisted that the police have the resources they need to respond to the violent mobs, who on Sunday stormed a hotel full of asylum seekers and set fire to it, knowing people were inside. John Healy, the defence secretary, said it was the police’s responsibility to respond in the first place “and currently, they’ve got the means to do it, and they will make sure that people stay safe.”Asked directly if the Army would be used in response to the riots, he said: “No”.A youth wearing a grey tracksuit and with his face covered by a black T-shirt throws a fence post towards police in Rotherham (Danny Lawson/PA) More

Support trulyindependent journalismFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorNigel Farage has joined calls for Parliament to be recalled over riots sweeping the UK, while suggesting the escalation in violence has come as a result of “soft policing” during Black Lives Matter protests.The Reform UK leader condemned the violence taking place on Britain’s streets, saying “the levels of intimidation and threat to life have no place in a functioning democracy”.But he went on to claim there is a widespread impression of “two-tier policing”, which he said is contributing to a “sense of injustice”. In a statement on Monday, Mr Farage said: “I have been totally appalled by the levels of violence seen in the last couple of days. The levels of intimidation and threat to life have no place in a functioning democracy.“That so many police officers have been injured trying to keep the peace is shocking, and we should not discount the use of the army if the situation were to deteriorate further.”The MP for Clacton also expressed concern over prime minister Sir Keir Starmer’s response to the riots.He added: “In the short term, we will quell the riots, but deeper longer-term problems remain. Ever since the soft-policing of the Black Lives Matter protests, the impression of two-tier policing has become widespread. The Prime Minister’s faltering attempts to address the current crisis have only added to that sense of injustice.Nigel Farage has claimed violence in UK cities in recent days is a result of ‘soft policing’ More

Support trulyindependent journalismFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorHostile states may be amplifying social media posts on rioting in Britain, home secretary Yvette Cooper has warned.It comes just one day after as the government’s adviser on political violence and disruption, Lord Walney, warned that far-right actors are “almost certainly” being “aided and abetted by hostile states in creating and fanning disinformation”.More than 145 people have been arrested so far after riots rocked major cities including Manchester, Liverpool and Hull.Asked about claims that foreign actors are “fanning disinformation” around the riots on social media, the Ms Cooper said the government “[knows] that there can be amplification of social media activity online.”But, speaking to Sky News, she added that the government’s focus is currently on “local groups and organisations, including some of those fuelled by far right extremists and also those who are local looters who came to join in and committed crimes”.Home Secretary Yvette Cooper speaks to the media at the Home Office in central London following violent disorder in parts of the UK (Elena Giuliano/PA) More

Support trulyindependent journalismFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorKeir Starmer’s approval ratings with the general public have collapsed in his first month of power since winning the election.According to an Opinium poll published over the weekend, the prime minister’s net approval rating has falled by 16 points with the UK gripped by riots and civil unrest with far-right thugs attacking the police, mosques and shops in towns and cities across the UK.The survey was taken while there was speculation that Sir Keir would go ahead with his family holiday with violence still escalating across the country.The riots appear to have been triggered by misinformation on social media fuelling far-right groups in the wake of the murder of three young girls in Southport last week.Starmer’s approval rating is down 16 points since becoming prime minister More

Support trulyindependent journalismFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorSir Keir Starmer issued a stark warning to racist far-right thugs rioting in British towns and cities with a “guarantee” they will face swift justice and “the full force of the law”.In an uncompromising statement to the nation, the prime minister told those behind the appalling scenes in Hull, Halifax, Liverpool, London, Southport and Rotherham: “I guarantee, you will regret it”. More than 100 people have been arrested following the violent disturbances on Saturday. The prime minister’s powerful statement came as a mob stormed a hotel full of asylum seekers waiting for their applications to be heard in Rotherham and set fire to it, knowing people were inside.A large mob gathers outside the Holiday Inn Express in Manvers, a suburb in Rotherham, before hurling debris at police on Sunday More

Support trulyindependent journalismFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorA senior member of Rishi Sunak’s shadow ministerial team has been branded “disgusting” after appearing to suggest that the far right riots sweeping the UK are the fault of Labour opposing the Rwanda deportation scheme.Shadow Welsh secretary Lord Byron Davies got caught up in an exchange on X/Twitter with Mail on Sunday columnist Dan Hodges over whether there could be any political justification for the riots.After appearing to suggest that the fault lay at the feet of Sir Keir Starmer and Labour for opposing the Rwanda scheme, Rishi Sunak has ordered that he is spoken to by the chief whip in the Lords after initially declining to take action..Labour’s new Welsh secretary Jo Stevens condemned the peer who is currently shadowing her after the Tories lost every seat in Wales at the last election.A fire is extinguished by police officers outside the Holiday Inn Express in Rotherham More