Michelle Donelan said the Prime Minister was operating in “opposition mode” by “grandstanding”.
Speaking on GB News Michelle Donelan said: “I think he's made a big mistake by pinning this all on the far-right, because actually what we've been seeing in the last few days is rent-a-mob.
“These are people that are just going out there for any excuse. People that are political activists, that care about issues, that care about things like immigration, are not going to loot their corner shop and damage local businesses in their community.
“These are people that are doing this for the hell of it and for the fun of it. And Keir Starmer painted himself in the election as the chap that was the law-and-order expert, the chap that could get Britain in control, and he's failing at his first test.
She added: “I think it's astonishing. You've got four countries now in the world that are telling their people, don't come to the UK because it's too dangerous.
“What is that going to do to our long-term reputation for tourism, for global severity, for business, for inward investment? And instead of recalling parliament, he is just letting them all go on holiday.
“What have Labour actually done about that? They’ve grandstanded…have they called all of the people around the table? Have they had a conversation, have they said, ‘what are your plans? What are you doing?’
“That's what I did when I was in that role. They haven't actually dealt with it, they’ve just made some comments.
“I think he's failed in his first test because he hasn't acted swiftly and decisively. I think that he's been still in opposition mode, where it's all about words and rhetoric and stern sound bites, rather than actually gripping the problem and saying, any kind of action like this by anybody is completely unacceptable, and we're not going to tolerate any of it. It's all as bad as one another.
“By going about it the way he has, I think he's actually in danger of letting it become inflamed, because at the moment it is rent-a-mob. It is anybody that wants to go out there and hit the streets.”
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