Keir Starmer blames Tories for riots as he issues dire warning

The Prime Minister will blame the Conservatives for riots that swept the country in an extraordinary attack on the previous Government.

Sir Keir Starmer will say thugs that attacked police and set fire to vehicles believed they would get away with it because “the system was broken” after 14 years of Tory rule.

In a Downing Street speech setting the scene for the return of MPs to Parliament next week, Sir Keir will also pave the way for tax rises in October’s Budget where Chancellor Rachel Reeves could increase capital gains tax or close inheritance tax loopholes.

He will highlight the “£22billion black hole” Labour claims to have uncovered in the public finances and warn: “If we don’t take tough action across the board, we won’t be able to fix the foundations of the country like we need.”

The Tories haveclaimed Sir Keir was trying to “con” the public by shifting the blame for Labour tax rises. Conservative Party chairman Richard Fuller said: “Just two months in and Keir Starmer has taken winter fuel payments off 10 million pensioners.”

Highlighting Labour’s cuts to winter fuel allowances, he added: “The soft touch Labour Chancellor is squandering money whilst fabricating a financial black hole in an attempt to con the public into accepting tax rises, and literally leaving pensioners in the cold.”

The Prime Minister will also use Tuesday’s speech to suggest there may be more controversial decisions in a similar vein to the planned early release of 5,500 prisoners from jail announced shortly after the July election.

Sir Keir will say: “Frankly – things will get worse before we get better.”

More than 570 people have appeared in magistrates courts on charges relating to riots which followed the killing of three children in Southport on July 29. Violence was fuelled by rumours spreading false information about the identity of the alleged killer.

Violent incidents included a mob storming a hotel housing asylum seekers in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, and attempting to set it on fire.

The longest jail sentence handed down so far is six years to David Wilkinson, 48, of Hull, who admitted violent disorder, attempted arson and racially aggravated criminal damage, and was sentenced at Hull Crown Court.

Sir Keir will claim rioters hoped to exploit “cracks” in the system and is expected to say: “Those people throwing rocks, torching cars, making threats - they didn’t just know the system was broken. They were betting on it. They were gaming it.

“They saw the cracks in our society after 14 years of populism and failure - and they exploited them. That’s what we have inherited.”

Highlighting his experience as Director of Public Prosecutions during riots in 2011 following the death of Mark Duggan in Tottenham, he will add: “When I think back to that time, I see just how far we’ve fallen

“Because responding to those riots was hard, but dealing with the riots this summer was much harder.”

While the Prime Minister will not respond directly to speculation about the forthcoming Budget, he will attempt to blame the economic inheritance left by the previous Conservative Government for future “unpopular decisions”.

Sir Keir will say: “I won’t shy away from making unpopular decisions now if it’s the right thing for the country in the long term. That’s what a government of service means. This shouldn’t be a country where people have to fear walking down the street, or watch cars and buildings being set on fire.

“This shouldn’t be a country where the Prime Minister can’t guarantee prison spaces. But it also shouldn’t be a country where people are paying thousands more on their mortgage or waiting months for hospital appointments they desperately need.

“So, when I talk about the inheritance the last government left us - the £22bn black hole in our finances - this isn’t about lines on a graph, this is about people’s lives. And the Tories are still not being honest about it.”