If you have weapons, assault cops or carry out a racist attack, you go to jail… whichever side you’re on
SIR Keir Starmer has only been in power a month and already he is finding out what it means to govern.
Immediately, he was confronted by widespread disorder across the country that has terrorised communities.
In opposition, Sir Keir was dubbed “Captain Hindsight” for his opportunistic side-swipes.
Now that he is responsible for making the tough decisions, he has nowhere to hide.
He is already off to a poor start.
It’s alarming that he did not convene Cobra meetings for five days amid the lawlessness on our streets.
Instead of serious leadership, we got dithering and delay.
Powers are available to the Government to crack down on malicious misinformation being spread online by hostile groups and individuals to stir up disorder.
And right now, we’re seeing lots of it.
‘Eliminate ringleaders’
A false name swirled on social media of the individual who allegedly killed three young girls and injured several others in Southport last week.
There have also been gangs trying to organise riots through social media channels and they haven’t been taken down quickly enough, if at all.
The last Government passed the Online Safety Act to clamp down on precisely this sort of bile.
Because this isn’t a matter of free speech, which I’ll always defend to the hilt.
Incitement to violence is a crime.
And, if something is illegal offline, it should be illegal online too.
So the Prime Minister needs to lead from the front and get the regulators, the police and the intelligence services to disrupt and eliminate online ringleaders.
He has all the powers required at his disposal already thanks to legislation put on the statute book by the Conservative Government.
Fines can be levied on tech execs if things get out of control on their platforms.
These fines can amount to £18million, or ten per cent of their business’s annual turnover, whichever is higher.
And if they don’t comply, then criminal sanctions should follow.
This law was passed for good reason and we must see punishments doled out when they are deserved.
This is a time for hard truths and concrete action, not meaningless platitudes.
Anti-British
Let’s be clear about what has been going on in our country.
The far right who attacked mosques are a disgrace.
The arsonists who set fire to a hotel with people inside are a disgrace.
The racists attacking black or Asian Britons are a disgrace.
The sectarian gangs marching through towns, waving weapons and, in some cases attacking white Britons, are also a disgrace.
And any thugs attacking police officers are a disgrace.
None of this has any place in our decent society.
It is anti-British.
These terrible events are not only awful, they’re an affront to families who have already suffered so much.
Just over a week ago, three innocent little girls were killed.
The whole country united in mourning and it was understandable that alongside the sadness was a real sense of anger.
But we need to be clear that two wrongs never make a right.
All violence must be called out, whoever is responsible for it.
Our political leaders must show no squeamishness or selectivity.
There is no room for moral confusion or weakness.
The Prime Minister needs to call out and condemn all violence and lawlessness, whoever is responsible.
Anything less is an abdication of leadership.
Selectively condemning only one group might be the politically easy option for him but he needs to speak for the nation as a whole.
Silence only undermines trust in our institutions and risks legitimising violence.
‘It’s anarchy’
The comments of the likes of Jess Phillips, who appeared to minimise the seriousness of an aggressive gang of Asian men threatening a journalist, were wrong — especially from the Home Office Minister responsible for tackling violent crime.
She needs to apologise.
So far, the PM has not risen to events.
As I learned in Government, Whitehall can be slow, reactive and partial.
Ministers are there to cut through that.
Enough.
From now on, anyone who carries a weapon, assaults the police or launches racist assaults on people needs to be hunted down, arrested, prosecuted and jailed for the longest possible time.
We all have a right to protest — that’s a cornerstone of our democratic society.
But this isn’t that.
It’s anarchy.
We must all back our brave police officers in using the full force of the law, without fear or favour, to restore order.
- Robert Jenrick is a Tory leadership candidate.
