Sir Keir Starmer has come under fire for ‘dithering and delaying’ over his response to the riots and for failing to recall MPs to Parliament.
The Prime Minister finally held an emergency COBRA meeting with Cabinet ministers, police bosses and prison chiefs on Monday to discuss a strategy for tackling the unrest.
But senior Tories questioned why he had not done so until six days after violence first broke out in Southport following the mass stabbing of children at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class.
Robert Jenrick, a frontrunner in the Tory leadership contest, told the Mail: ‘Sir Keir has dithered and delayed for six days of growing lawlessness before convening COBRA and treating this security emergency with the seriousness it needed.
‘He criticised Boris Johnson five times for not attending COBRA meetings at the start of the pandemic, only to fail to even organise one while Britain burns.
‘Captain Hindsight strikes again.’
Captain Hindsight was the nickname given by Mr Johnson to Sir Keir during clashes in the Commons over the latter’s criticism of his response to Covid.
Referring to Sir Keir’s plans to go on holiday in the coming days, a source close to Mr Jenrick added: ‘The PM was too busy searching [flights website] Skyscanner as the riots overtook the country on Friday evening.’
It was unclear last night whether the PM will press ahead with his holiday plans.
Former Home Secretary James Cleverly, another leadership contender, told Times Radio: ‘When the Government gets things right, I will support them, because this issue is absolutely key.
‘But I’m also concerned that they have been slow. When you’re in opposition, you get into a habit of thinking what you’re going to say.
‘When you’re in government, you have to decide what you’re going to do. They need to be much more proactive.’
Sir Keir also faced mounting pressure to recall Parliament, which went into recess last week for the summer holidays.
In a letter to the PM, former home secretary Dame Priti Patel said: ‘We either believe in the rule of law, or we do not. That is why the House of Commons must be recalled.’
She said recalling Parliament following the 2011 summer riots ‘gave politicians an opportunity to come together to stand against violence and to address issues exposed by those events.’
She added: ‘Recalling Parliament will present the House with an opportunity for MPs, including in those constituencies affected, to raise their view and seek assurances from the Government.
‘The public need reassurances about the steps the Government are taking to restore order to our streets, and the House of Commons is the forum where this should take place.’
Dame Priti added that MPs needed answers as to why the PM has apparently not ordered the police to take further measures –such as cancelling leave – to ensure officer numbers are high enough.
Shortly after Sir Keir’s first COBRA meeting of the crisis yesterday, he announced that ‘a standing army of specialist’ police officers has been scrambled to be deployed to any locations where extra resources are needed.
And he said he had requested ‘early consideration of the earliest naming and identification of those involved’ in rioting, so they feel the ‘full force of the law’.
He also insisted there were enough prison places after more than 400 arrests were made.
This is despite his Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood last month warning prisons were ‘within a few hundred places of collapse’.
The Government has passed legislation approving the early release of thousands of prisoners to ease the crisis, but this won’t start until September.
Sir Keir said: ‘I’m appalled we’ve been put in this position by the previous government but we will make this work and ensure we have got the places needed to bring the perpetrators to justice.’
The PM’s official spokesman rejected criticism of the Government’s response, saying: ‘He convened Cabinet ministers over the weekend and has chaired a COBRA meeting, and the Government – whether it’s the PM or the Home Secretary – have been working around the clock to address the disorder that we’ve seen over the last few days.’
He added that calling in the Armed Forces has not happened because police said they do not need the assistance.