Riots show UK has lost respect for police, warns Home Secretary (2024)

Britain has lost respect for the police, the Home Secretary has claimed in the wake of the riots.

Yvette Cooper pledged to restore the public’s faith in the law as she warned would-be rioters that the streets would be flooded with police this week.

Writing for The Telegraph, she said a soft approach to justice had led too many people to “feel as though crime has no consequences”.

The Home Secretary called the rioting that erupted across British towns and cities a “disgraceful attempted assault on the rule of law itself”.

“I am not prepared to tolerate the brazen abuse and contempt which a minority have felt able to show towards our men and women in uniform, or the disrespect for law and order that has been allowed to grow in recent years,” she wrote.

“As well as punishing those responsible for the last fortnight’s violent disorder, we must take action to restore respect for the police, and respect for the law. From anti-social behaviour through to serious violence, too often people feel as though crime has no consequences, as charge rates have been allowed to fall and court delays have grown. That has to change.

“There is lots of rebuilding to be done in our communities after the damage of the last fortnight. But respect for the police. Respect for the law. Respect for each other. That is where we must start.”

On Sunday, the funeral was held of one the three child victims of the Southport stabbing attack, which happened a fortnight ago.

Tributes were paid to nine-year-old Alice da Silva Aguiar as her family released a photograph of her outside the Taylor Swift dance class where she was killed and praised their “perfect dream child”.

The riots were fulled by false reports on social media, which identified the suspect as a Muslim refugee who had arrived in the UK on a small boat.

Ms Cooper acknowledged that a lot of voters have “strong views” on immigration, but said that was no excuse for the behaviour of the rioters.

She added that prosecutions of those responsible for the unrest, which have seen more than 30 people jailed so far, would continue apace this week.

Nearly 1,000 people have been arrested and more than 450 charged in relation to the riots and counter-protests staged over the past two weeks.

On Sunday, Stephen Parkinson, the head of the Crown Prosecution Service, warned rioters that they could face up to 10 years in jail if convicted.

Labour will be under pressure to explain how it will address some of the problems that have been blamed for fuelling the riots, including concerns over border controls. It will also need to address pressure on public services from high levels of immigration.

Sir Keir Starmer ditched the Conservatives’ Rwanda plan on his first day in office but has so far set out little detail on how he intends to bring both legal and illegal migration down.

On Friday, the Telegraph revealed that Labour was considering changing rules to force social media companies to ban fake news, and Ms Cooper has said she wants more neighbourhood police officers patrolling the streets.

But the Government will also need to address the pressure on public services from high levels of immigration.

Regional inequalities have also been pinpointed as a factor in the riots, with seven of the 10 most deprived areas in England witnessing unrest.

Sir Keir scrapped Boris Johnson’s “levelling up” slogan but could redirect money to the worst affected area to fund social cohesion projects.

Ms Cooper said: “Lots of people across Britain have strong views on crime, immigration, the NHS and more.

“But they don’t pick up bricks and throw them at the police, they don’t loot shops or wreck cars, or attack people because of the colour of their skin, or set light to buildings knowing people are inside.

“We said criminals would pay the price, and we meant it. That is the rule of law in practice. It will be crucial over the coming days to maintain the work that quelled the threatened violence – the strong police response on the streets and the pace of arrests and prosecutions.”

She added that, in the longer term, Labour’s plans to put thousands more neighbourhood officers on the streets would restore public confidence in the police.

Her remarks come after Dame Margaret Hodge, a Labour grandee, said the party had been “too frightened” to address voters’ concerns about immigration.

She said the Government would “have to show we can control our borders” and that it could deport migrants who break the law.

Riots show UK has lost respect for police, warns Home Secretary (2024)

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