Home Secretary condemns recent riots but says disorder 'should not silence immigration debate'

The Home Secretary has condemned recent riots at the Labour Party Conference, but said disorder and violence should not 'silence a serious debate' on immigration.

Yvette Cooper labelled the disorder incidents, that broke out across the UK following a knife attack against children at a Southport dance studio, that left three dead, as 'arson', 'racism', and 'thuggery'.

In her speech, she said immigration in the UK needs to be 'properly managed and controlled' to create a 'fair system', to tackle criminal gangs who 'profit from undermining border security' and stop 'women and children being crushed to death on crowded boats'.

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Speaking at Labour Party conference in Liverpool, Ms Cooper said she had spoken to children about their experiences when the Spellow Hub library was set on fire during disorder on County Road in the city.

She said: “One told me how scared she was that night, how her mum switched off all the lights in the house, and told her to stay quiet and sit on the stairs as bins were set alight along her street. So don’t anyone tell me that was protest. Don’t tell me that was about immigration or policing or poverty.

“Plenty of people have strong views on immigration, on crime, on the NHS and more, but they don’t pick up bricks and throw them at the police. They don’t set light to buildings with people inside. It was arson. It was racism. It was thuggery. It was crime.”

Ms Cooper went on: “And a serious government looks at the criminal gangs who are profiting from undermining our border security while women and children are crushed to death in crowded, flimsy, small boats and says the gangs have got away with it for too long – we will not stand for this vile trade in human lives.

“A serious government knows that immigration is important, and that is why it needs to be properly managed and controlled so the system is fair, so rules are properly respected and enforced but we never again see a shameful repeat of the Windrush scandal that let British citizens down.”

Ms Cooper highlighted the Government’s work on border security, adding that working with other countries was better than standing 'on the shoreline shouting at the sea'.

Shadow home secretary James Cleverly said: “As home secretary I took action to reduce knife crime and violence and brought down migration levels. Less talk, more action.

“On the day that the zombie knife ban I brought into law comes into effect, the new Home Secretary can only manage more empty words. The Home Secretary talks about the rule of law, but she doesn’t properly back the police to do their jobs.

“She talks about tackling people smuggling gangs, but has scrapped our deterrent. She talks about tackling crime but voted against swathes of legislation to do so when she was in opposition.”