Starmer vows crackdown as fears rise of summer unrest

Warning comes as Tory minister accused of inciting hatred

- ARCHIE MITCHELL, DAVID MADDOX & KATE DEVLIN

Ministers are ready to unleash a “strengthened” crackdown on rioters if last year’s “shameful” scenes are repeated this summer.

In a sign that Sir Keir Starmer is not willing to tolerate a repeat of the riots that followed the Southport murders in 2024, the Home Office has issued a statement saying it is prepared for any disorder that might erupt this year.

The intervention comes in the wake of a furious reaction to comments made by the shadow home secretary Chris Philp, who was accused of “inciting hatred” at a particularly tense time by attacking a council in London that is providing help to asylum seekers.

The row broke out amid rising tensions in Epping, Essex, where a hotel housing asylum seekers has been targeted by far-right protesters. The tensions have prompted a former top prosecutor to call for “much, much more” to be done, saying that local community “Cobra” meetings should be “happening now” in potential hotspots and that policing resources should be put in place to prevent further outbreaks of unrest.

Earlier, business secretary Jonathan Reynolds confirmed that the authorities are ready to respond if fresh riots erupt this summer, as tensions simmer over migrant hotels in communities across the UK. He said that government agencies, police and emergency services are prepared for potential disorder after violent demonstrations took place outside a hotel housing asylum seekers in Epping.

The scenes have been reminiscent of the violence that broke out following the murder of three children in Southport, which led to riots and disturbances in 18 towns and cities across England and Northern Ireland.