Politics latest: Support for Farage plummets after trying to 'have his cake and eat it'; PM to chair COBRA meeting (2025)

Ahead of another COBRA meeting for the prime minister to discuss the past week's unrest, here's your teatime bulletin from the Politics Hub:

• Sir Keir Starmer welcomed the relative lack of violence last night, saying the swift sentencing of rioters had delivered an "important lesson" to other would-be troublemakers;
  
• But he vowed not to "let up" in the government's response to the disorder, with more protests thought to be in the offing;
• The policing minister told Sky News earlier there was "further intelligence" that events could take place in the next few days;
• Hundreds of people have now been arrested over the unrest, with more jailed today - though a Labour councillor who attended a counter-protest has also been detained on suspicion of encouraging murder.

• Nigel Farage has been criticised for his response to the Southport attack and subsequent riots, with Tory leadership contender Mel Stride accusing the Reform leader of helping "fuel conspiracy theories";
• New polling suggests every voter group bar Reform now views Mr Farage unfavourably, including Tory and Leave backers;
• Our political correspondent Darren McCaffrey says having moved to condemn the rioters after questioning the police, the Clacton MP has tried to "have his cake and eat it".

That's all for now - we'll have updates from this evening's COBRA meeting whenever we get word from Number 10.

Thousands of anti-racism protesters gathered across England and formed human barriers to protect asylum centres after police warned of more than 100 far right-led rallies on Wednesday night.

On the Sky News Daily, Niall Paterson speaks to Tawhid Islam, trustee at Liverpool Region Mosque Network, who we spoke to on the last episode, after the protests his community feared were overshadowed.

Plus, our people and communities correspondent Nick Martin on how swift justice may have deterred protesters and delivered a political victory for the new government.

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A man in his 50s has been arrested in southeast London after a social media video from one of yesterday's counter-protests.

It appeared to show a man calling for "fascist" rioters to have their throats "cut".

Sky News understands it's in relation to the suspension of Labour councillor Ricky Jones, which we reported on earlier.

The party described the behaviour in the video as "completely unacceptable".

In the clip, he had identified himself as a member of the TSSA union, which represents transport and travel workers.

"We unequivocally do not condone any threats or acts of violence, as these actions are contrary to our values," said a spokesperson.

The Metropolitan Police has now said a man is being held on suspicion of encouraging murder and a public order offence.

He is in custody at a south London police station.

Ourpolitical correspondent Darren McCaffrey has spotted some interesting polling about Nigel Farage.

According to YouGov, the Reform leader's favourability ratings have fallen since the start of the riots in the UK.

He is viewed unfavourably by every voter group in the UK except Reform backers.

This includes Leave voters - his score with them going from +7 to -4.

The proportion of 2024 Tory voters that have a negative view of him has risen from 52% to 61% - and 47% of the public believe he holds some responsibility for the rioting.

Farage under fire from multiple sides

Darren said: "I think he's trying to strike this balance between trying to lean into some of the causes potentially behind at least the protests, if not the violence, but at the same time trying to condemn them.

"The question is, can he have his cake and eat it? Can he effectively walk that fine balance?"

Mr Farage questioned the initial police response to the stabbing in Southport, accusing them of withholding information.

The Reform leader has since condemned the violence on the streets - but made allegations of "two-tier policing", claims which have been denied and criticised by the prime minister and Met Police chief.

Mel Stride, the Tory leadership hopeful, was heavily critical of Mr Farage this morning when speaking to Sky News - and it could be that more Tories come out to attack him.

Labour MP Lauren Edwards has apologised for a series of social media posts from more than a decade ago that have resurfaced.

The Rochester and Strood MP made remarks about Estonians, a halal restaurant and parliamentary cleaners between 2009 and 2011.

It is not clear how old the newly-elected MP is, but her LinkedIn page says she finished school in 2000 and started university in 2001 - though that was in Australia, where academic years run January to December.

In one post, Ms Edwards: "I want these f****** Estonian retards out of my flat now!"

In another post, she said: "Are the cleaners on recess too? My desk has so many coffee rings it looks like Saturn."

'A significant error of judgement'

Between 2008 and 2013, Ms Edwards worked as a parliamentary researcher for Labour MPs including Barbara Keeley, Teresa Pearce and Lisa Nandy.

Writing on social media today, Ms Edwards said: "I have recently been made aware of a small number of tweets that I posted on Twitter from over a decade ago, which I now deeply regret.

"They were a significant error of judgement on my part, and I apologise wholeheartedly."

As a local councillor and MP, she said she's "seen first-hand the importance of bringing communities together and working with tolerance and respect for all in our society".

She vowed to "continue that important work" in her Kent constituency.

Earlier we reported on footage spreading on social media from one of yesterday evening's many anti-racism protests (see 12.59 post).

It showed a man, identified as Dartford Labour councillor Ricky Jones, shouting into a microphone about the "disgusting fascists" responsible for the recent unrest.

"And we need to cut all their throats and get rid of them all," he adds.

Labour described the conduct as "completely unacceptable" and have suspended him.

The Metropolitan Police has now said it is also investigating the video after criticism from the likes of Nigel Farage.

The force said: "We are aware of the significant public concern around this video. Officers are investigating as a matter of urgency.

"We will update as soon as we can."

Sky News has contacted Mr Jones for comment.

We've had more criticism of Robert Jenrick today - the Tory leadership contender who has become embroiled in a race row.

The former immigration minister, notable for his strong right-wing views, suggested those who shout "Allahu Akbar" should be arrested.

It's provoked a fierce backlash, especially given the ongoing riots which have seen mosques and Muslim communities targeted.

What exactly did he say?

Mr Jenrick made the comment on Sky News on Wednesday.

He was echoing claims from Nigel Farage and Elon Musk that far right protesters have been dealt with more harshly than other demonstrators, which police chiefs have widely denied.

Referring to what he described as "hate marches" following the Hamas attacks against Israel, he said it was "quite wrong" people could "chant Allahu Akbar on the streets of London" without being arrested.

What does Allahu Akbar mean?

Allahu Akbar is a common Islamic phrase which means "God is great".

It's also used as a call to prayer for Muslims.

Who has criticised the comments?

Naz Shah, vice-chair of a cross-party group on British Muslims, quickly accused the ex-minister of "textbook Islamophobia".

"It literally equates every Muslim in the world with extremism," the Labour MP added.

The Muslim Council of Britain, which represents Muslim organisations across the UK, said his comment shows "institutional Islamophobia is alive and well" in the Tory party.

And Yasmin Qureshi, the Labour MP forBolton South and Walkden, said such rhetoric was partly to blame for the riots.

Tory peer Baroness Warsi, the first Muslim woman to serve in a British government cabinet under David Cameron, also hit out.

Deputy PM Angela Rayner added: "People like Robert Jenrick have been stirring up some of the problems we've seen in our communities."

On Thursday, he was criticised by his fellow Tory leadership candidate Mel Stride and the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan.

How has Jenrick responded?

Both Mr Jenrick and his team have defended his comments.

He said while the phrase is "spoken peacefully" by millions in the UK every day, it has been used in "aggressive chanting" at protests.

He shared what he said was an example - a clip showing a group of Asian men marching through Bolton.

"All violence must end," he added, though there was no visible violence in the footage.

Michelle O'Neill, the Sinn Fein first minister of Northern Ireland, has been speaking following an emergency meeting of the nation's executive.

It comes in the wake of unrest in Northern Ireland.

As our senior Ireland correspondent David Blevins says, it's the first UK parliament recalled from recess since the riots began.

Ms O'Neill blamed "14 years of Tory austerity" for the police not being resourced enough to respond.

She said there was "collective will" at Stormont to "fight for good public services and more funding for public services".

"But let's also be very clear: this is racist activity," she added.

"This didn't occur because policing was under-resourced."

More than a dozen arrested so far

Emma Little-Pengelly, the DUP deputy first minister, said: "Violence is never the answer. Violence is always wrong. That is the clear message.

"We're standing here today firmly against violence, disorder, and racism and there are no ifs or buts about that."

Police Service of Northern Ireland chief constable Jon Boutcher 16 have been arrested and 11 charged after the unrest.

We reported earlier on a letter to Housing Secretary Angela Rayner from local authority chiefs noting rising homelessness levels (see 11.11 post).

Well, we've now had a response from the deputy PM.

She said: "We are facing the most acute housing crisis in living memory and homelessness remains at record levels.

"This is nothing short of a national scandal."

Ms Rayner said the whole government is working with local leaders on a "long-term strategy" with local leaders to "end homelessness for good".

This includes a huge increase in social and affordable homebuilding, abolishing no-fault evictions, and a "multi-million pound package to provide homes for families most at risk".

Sticking with Sadiq Khan, we also asked the London mayor if he plans for Taylor Swift concerts in the capital next week were at risk after the star's upcoming gigs in Vienna were cancelled due to a terror threat.

Two teenagers, aged 19 and 17, have been arrested over an attack plot.

Mr Khan said he was "never complacent" about the threats to major events but London has a "huge amount of experience" policing them.

'We're going to carry on'

"We are a capital city, an international city, and on a regular basis host major events," said the mayor.

He said police had worked "really closely" with organisers since the Manchester Arena attack in 2017, when "many lessons were learned" to make sure such events were adequately protected.

"We're going to carry on," he added.

Swift is due to perform at Wembley for several nights from next Thursday, having already played several gigs there earlier this summer.