Politics latest: Elon Musk hits out at PM over support for Muslims targeted by rioters (2024)

We're bringing the Politics Hub to a close for the evening.

Our coverage of the ongoing riots has been concentrated in our dedicated live blog, which you can find below:

Here's a quick rundown of the main political reaction from today:

• Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said police will have access to a "standing army of specialist officers" to deal with the unrest;
• It comes after he held the first COBRA meeting of his premiership, as ministers and police chiefs grapple with how to end the disorder;
• Downing Street hasn't ruled out recalling parliament after several MPs, including former home secretary Priti Patel, made the call;
• But there's no sign of the army being drafted in to help, as suggested by Reform's Nigel Farage.

• Elon Musk has found himself in a war of words with Number 10 after the prime minister's spokesperson criticised him for suggesting the UK was heading for "civil war";
• The billionaire later appeared to criticise Sir Keir for expressing concern for Muslim communities being targeted by far right rioters;
• Muslims have been targeted since the Southport attack after false rumours spread online that the suspect was a Muslim migrant, including on Musk's increasingly controversial X platform;
• The government has called on social media bosses to do more to clamp down on misinformation and hate speech.

The Politics Hub team will be back tomorrow morning from around 6am.

As well as calling out what he's described as "far right thuggery", the prime minister has used his statements on the riots to send solidarity to Muslim communities that have been targeted.

Mosques have been offered greater protection by the Home Office, which has been welcomed by faith leaders.

But Labour MP Afzal Khan wants his party to go further, writing to the PM demanding the government provide a definition of Islamophobia to combat the "racism and vitriol" of the past week.

He wants Sir Keir Starmer's government to adopt a definition put forward following an inquiry in 2017.

It reads: "Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness."

Watch anti-racist activists chase rioters from mosque:

Tories accused of 'ignoring' Islamophobia

Mr Khan, who also wants the PM to meet Muslim community leaders, said such racism had become "mainstream" since 2010.

The Manchester Rusholme MP wrote in a letter to Sir Keir: "It is imperative that this Labour government, in stark contrast to the previous Conservative governments, will not ignore Islamophobia when it occurs."

The previous Tory administration reclined to adopt the proposed definition because it said the wording could harm freedom of speech.

Rishi Sunak, the then prime minister, would often instead refer to an "anti-Muslim hatred".

By Mollie Malone, news correspondent

The government is accelerating plans to deal with prison capacity to ensure sufficient space for an expected rise in prisoners in light of rioting across the country.

As early as next week, around 500 places will be mobilised to boost capacity - including cells at HMP Stocken in the East Midlands and HMP Cookham Wood, a young offenders institution being repurposed.

These plans were already in place and have been brought forward.

The government is confident this - alongside established protocols like holding prisoners in police custody cells pending their transfer to prison, or moving prisoners from one part of the country to others - will help manage capacity during the summer break.

Watch police make arrests after riots in Sunderland:

A plan with tight margins

However, if riots continue for many weeks, the situation will be different.

There are currently around 700 free spaces left across the male estate in England and Wales, and the service likes to operate with a margin of around 1,400.

The government is also relying on a quieter spell of court activity during August, when the courts are on summer break.

Proposals to ask court judges to work overnight are also being considered as an option in light of an influx of charges, as was done following the 2011 London riots.

By Tim Baker, political reporter

There are growing calls for parliament to be recalled, so MPs can debate the recent unrest.

First off, it's worth noting that parliament is not sitting due to the summer recess - with politicians set to return to Westminster on 2 September.

While this is a time for MPs and their staff to take holidays, they do also continue working in their constituencies.

Technically, the power to interrupt this break lies with the Speaker of the House of Commons, Sir Lindsay Hoyle.

However, he can only do so following "representations" from ministers, according to the House of Commons Library.

If an order is made to recall parliament, it usually sits two days from when the announcement made - for example, if the Speaker said today he was planning to recall MPs, they would likely sit on Wednesday.

Currently, there is no ability for MPs outside of government to trigger a recall of parliament.

While the House of Lords has its own set of rules, it typically reconvenes at the same time as the Commons.

The last time the Commons was recalled during a recess was amid the evacuation of Kabul in August 2021.

Other cases include the death of Prince Philip in April 2021, the death of Jo Cox in June 2017, and the riots in August 2011.

Earlier we reported on the seemingly angry manner in which Met Police commissioner Sir Mark Rowley departed an emergency meeting about the nationwide riots (see 11.30 post).

Sir Mark was present at a COBRA meeting called by the prime minister, and while leaving was asked by a Sky News journalist whether the riots would mark an end to "two-tier policing".

It followed accusations from Nigel Farage - dismissed by other politicians including former home secretary Priti Patel - that police had dealt with previous protests with a light touch.

Sir Mark has now issued a statement on the incident which saw him grab the journalist's microphone and toss part of it to the ground.

Watch the moment below:

"This is a distraction from the critical events we are dealing with," he said.

"It was agreed the prime minister would provide an update afterwards, and it was not my place to speak publicly.

"In an effort to move a microphone out of my path I'm sorry that I knocked it to the floor. That was never my intention.

"We remain focused on the critical and urgent matters at hand."

After a weekend of violence, Sir Keir Starmer has said police will have access to a "standing army of specialist officers" to deal with the riots.

Hundreds of people tried to set fire to a hotel housing asylum seekers in Rotherham on Sunday, while a children’s library in Liverpool and a Citizens Advice centre in Sunderland were burnt over the weekend.

Mosques have also been attacked and shops looted.

The prime minister is facing mounting pressure to take a stand against the far right.

On today’s episode of the Sky News Daily, Niall Paterson speaks with Ivan Humble, a former leading active member of the English Defence League who now works to tackle radicalisation and extremism in the UK.

Plus our political correspondent Rob Powell talks about the government's response to the crisis.

Elon Musk has used his X platform - widely criticised over the past week for hosting disinformation about the Southport attack, which has partly inflamed the subsequent riots - to question Sir Keir Starmer's response.

The prime minister tweeted a clip of a statement he gave this morning, where he reiterated his warning to rioters that they will face justice and offered his support to Muslim communities targeted by the far right.

"We will not tolerate attacks on mosques or on Muslim communities," his tweet read.

Musk responded: "Shouldn't you be concerned about attacks on *all* communities?"

Social media platforms facing government scorn

A reminder that Muslims have been targeted since the Southport attack after false rumours spread online that the suspect was a Muslim migrant.

He is in fact British-born 17-year-old Axel Rudakubana.

A mosque in Southport was targeted by a mob last Tuesday, and others have had their security ramped up in the days since.

Musk was criticised by Downing Street earlier for suggesting the UK was heading for "civil war".

The government has also called on social media bosses to do more to clamp down on misinformation and hate speech.

How Southport attack misinformation spread online:

On the day the FTSE 250 suffered its biggest fall since her mini-budget, Liz Truss has been on the airwaves warning of a bleak future for the Conservative Party.

The former prime minister, who lost her parliamentary seat in Norfolk at last month's election, was in no laughing mood as she appeared at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe earlier today.

Truss still defiant over mini-budget

She was there for a 90-minute stint on a live LBC show, which included questions from an audience - some of whom demanded she apologise for the impact her economic policies had on mortgages.

Ms Truss again denied the mini budget led to an economic crisis, dismissing such accusations as "inane".

On the future of the Tory party, she replied "yes" when asked if it could "effectively die" amid a threat from Reform UK.

'Wrong' for Tories to call for unity

She said her party could make room for Nigel Farage and dismissed calls from candidates vying to replace Rishi Sunak as leader that "we need unity" and "need to dampen things down".

"I think that's completely wrong - that's not where the country is," said the country's shortest-serving PM.

She said she hadn't decided who to back in the leadership race, which will run until November, but said she was no fan of the outgoing leader.

"I'm a pretty honest person, I don't get on with him personally."

On that aforementioned FTSE 250 drop, you can read more on a challenging day for global stock markets in our Money blog:

More than 17,000 migrants have now crossed the Channel this year.

Home Office figures show 139 people spread across three boats made the dangerous journey yesterday, taking the total to 17,170.

That's 15% higher than this time last year.

The number is set to rise again tomorrow, as new pictures today have shown more arrivals being brought ashore by the Border Force.

It comes amid a period of pleasant weather in the UK, which tends to coincide with a spike in small boat crossings.

It feels like a long time ago already, but one of the big talking points during the general election was the sewage scandal.

The amount of filth and waste ending up in Britain's rivers and seas was especially critical to the Liberal Democrat campaign, helping the party gain many traditional Tory seats in southern England.

It's clearly an issue that's going to stick around, after a new poll found nearly eight in 10 dog owners who visit UK beaches are put off letting their pets into the sea because of the risk of sewage.

The survey was carried out for the Lib Dems by pollster Savanta.

The UK's sewage scandal explained:

Sir Ed Davey's party described the data as a "national scandal", as they call for bonuses for water company bosses to be banned and a new industry regulator with greater powers.

The party's MP for Winchester, Danny Chambers, who's also a vet, said: "The new government must save our dogs from the sewage crisis.

"Reports from across the country of dogs becoming sick after swimming in the sea are truly shocking, and frankly this is a national scandal."

The government is proposing legislation that would put offending companies under special measures, and boost regulation to hold firms to higher standards.