Nigel Farage 'appalled by riots' as he demands urgent Parliament recall: 'Need to debate population explosion'

More than 90 people were arrested on Saturday alone as violence gripped Hull, Leeds, Liverpool, Bristol, Manchester, Stoke-on-Trent, Blackpool and Belfast.

Violence erupted last week following the spread of misinformation after three young girls were fatally stabbed in Southport, Merseyside.

The Reform UK leader also accused officers of "two-tier policing" as he called for a debate on the "population explosion".

He 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."

Farage went on to express concern with Sir Keir Starmer's response to the riots.

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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.

"The majority of our population can see the fracturing of our communities as a result of mass, uncontrolled immigration, whether legal or illegal.

"Yet to attempt to debate this in the public arena leads to immediate howls of condemnation. A population explosion without integration was always going to end badly. I have said this for many years.

"We must have a more honest debate about these vital issues and give people the confidence that there are political solutions that are relevant to them. A recall of Parliament would be an appropriate start to this."

Farage joins a growing list of MPs eager to return to Westminster to debate the situation.

Former Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbot voiced her support for recalling Parliament, with ex-Shadow Equalities Minister Dawn Butler claiming: "Uncomfortable truths must be addressed."

Tory leadership hopeful Priti Patel, who served as Home Secretary from 2019 to 2022, argued "unacceptable" violence requires MPs to return.

She added: "The Government is now in danger of appearing to be swept away with events rather than maintaining control of them."

Starmer, who has so far resisted calls to recall Parliament, will instead convene a Cobra meeting later today.

Despite Farage's recall demand, the Clacton MP faced fury after being accused of stirring concerns which sparked violence last week.

The Reform UK leader initially claimed the violence was "a reaction to fear, to discomfort, to unease that is out there shared by tens of millions of people" and insinuated the police might have "withheld" information about last week's knife attack.

Liverpool Riverside's Labour MP Kim Johnson called for the Commons standards watchdog to hold Farage to account over his "dangerous comments".

Robert Jenrick, who is challenging Patel to succeed Rishi Sunak as Tory Party leader, also voiced concern about Farage's previous remarks.

The former Immigration Minister said: "I think we should all be choosing our words carefully, backing the police to the hilt and doing everything we can to ensure our streets are safe and this violence, which I'm worried is escalating, comes to an end as swiftly as possible."

Despite Home Office Minister Jess Phillips and former counter-terror police chief Neil Basu criticising the Clacton MP, Starmer stopped short of condemning Farage.

The Prime Minister instead said: “What I am saying is my focus is on the families, the victims who are at the heart of this, and I think that that should be the focus for everybody.

"And anybody who says or does anything that impedes their ability to get the justice that they deserve cannot claim to be acting in their best interests, because they’re not.”

Starmer also condemned "far-right thuggery", warning all those involved "will regret it".

However, Farage has not held back in his criticism of Starmer.

Following Starmer's address to the nation on Thursday, the Reform UK leader said: "The Prime Minister hasn't got an earthly clue how to deal with it."

Farage added: "We need to start getting tough. We need to use stop and search regardless of the colour of the skin of anyone that gets stopped. We need tougher prison sentences for anybody carrying a knife. We need, folks, to get real."