Starmer: Concerns about immigration and disadvantage are no excuse for unrest

Sir Keir Starmer has said he will not give “an inch” to the rioters, dismissing concerns about immigration and disadvantage as justification for the unrest across England over the summer.

The Prime Minister acknowledged there were wider concerns about immigration and living standards and said these needed to be addressed. But Sir Keir branded the unrest “pure brutality” and said fears were no excuse for rioters.

The National Police Chiefs Council said last week that police had made a total of 1,461 arrests since July 29. The CPS laid a total of 965 charges.

Sir Keir told ITV Tyne Tees & Border: “I am not prepared to blame the people who took to our streets in the slightest – they were purely violent, terrifying the public, attempting to set fire to buildings and attacking the police.”

“They had to feel the full force of the law and they did. And I don’t think anyone would disagree with that.”

He later added: “Is there concern about discrimination? Yes. Is there concern about issues such as immigration? Yes, I accept that without hesitation.”

“We are a democratic country and we resolve these issues democratically. What I will not tolerate, and I assume that no one who sees this will tolerate either, are those who have taken it upon themselves to inflict violence on other people.

“We debate difficult issues in this country (and) yes, we settle them democratically. Quite right. And there are people who agree or disagree with me – I completely understand that. (We are) determined to deal with deprivation, determined to deal with immigration. But I will not give an inch to those who have been violent.”

Sir Keir said politicians had to be careful about the language they used about immigration. ITV Calendar asked him about his own comments during the general election in which he referred to the difficulties of repatriating illegal immigrants to Bangladesh.

Are there concerns about discrimination? Yes. Are there concerns about immigration? Yes, I accept that without any problem.

A poll published on Thursday found that the public greatly overestimates the proportion of asylum seekers in Britain’s immigration, leading to “distorted perceptions” that make the migration debate “unbalanced”, according to new research.

According to the study by British Future and Ipsos, respondents on average believed that asylum seekers would make up 37 percent of total immigration. In reality, however, their share was only around 7 percent in the year to June 2024.

More than a fifth (22%) believed that asylum seekers account for more than half of total immigration to the UK, according to the results.

He said: “I think politicians have to be very careful about the language they use.

“I accept that there are concerns across the country on issues like immigration that need to be addressed. But I will never accept that this kind of unrest, this kind of violence, is a way to solve these problems.”

He later told the regional broadcaster: “What I said about migration is that it is too high and needs to be reduced. I stand by that. I think we should be able to discuss it.”

“It has nothing to do with disorder. And I think anyone who confuses the two things is making a big mistake.”