Keir Starmer blames ‘snake oil populism’ for fuelling national riots - as he admits checking prison capacity daily

27 August 2024, 11:40 | Updated: 27 August 2024, 11:43

Sir Keir Starmer has blamed a "spiral of populism" created by the previous Tory government for fuelling the recent unrest, adding: "these riots did not happen in a vacuum".

Speaking from the Downing Street Rose Garden, the Prime Minister labelled rioters "mindless thugs" that set about "terrifying minorities" in the wake of the Southport attacks.

Blaming the previous government's use of 'snake oil populism' for the unrest, the PM said that he "genuinely didn’t know" whether he would be able to jail rioters given the current levels of prison overcrowding.

"Everyday, literally everyday, we had to check the precise number of prison places and where those places were," he told waiting media.

He also noted that dealing with this summer's riots has been "much harder" than the London riots he oversaw as Director of Public Prosecutions.

"Crime has consequences" he told the waiting media, adding that he "will not listen to those who exploit grieving families".

He added that rioters "trying to set fire to a building with human beings inside it" was "despicable".

Highlighting that rioters knew that the prison system was stretched to its limit, the prime minister said that those causing trouble were "betting on it" and "gaming it".

"They saw the cracks in our society… and they exploited them," he said.

“The riots didn’t just betray the sickness, they revealed the cure, found not in the cynical conflict of populism but in the coming together of a country the morning after and cleared up their community," Starmer explained.

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“Because that is who we are, that is what we stand for. People who cared for their neighbour. Communities who stood fast against hatred and division.

"Emergency services who did their duty - even when they were in danger. And a government that put the people of this country first."

It comes as the PM promised to "root out 14 years of Tory rot" as he defended his decision to means test the winter fuel payment in a speech on Tuesday.

He promised to "fix the foundations" of the country, after highlighting the previous government had left a "22 billion pound black hole" in the economy.