The Prime Minister called out the Reform UK leader for exploiting 'tragedy to create grievance'
Keir Starmer has slammed claims from Reform UK leader Nigel Farage as he said there isn't "two-tier" policing in the UK. It comes afterSpeaking in Prime Minister’s Questions, Mr Farage urged Sir Keir to consider whether the country has a "two-tier" police system.
He said: "Following the horrendous circumstances of Henry Nowak’s death, can I urge the Prime Minister to consider this: it is now clear to growing millions in this country that we are living under two-tier policing.
"The instructions that are given to police officers from police bosses are clear and written down in ink. It says you must treat different ethnic groups in different ways.
"Apart from the upset and the anger at the circumstances of his death, the anger that you saw spilling out in Southampton last night, which is in danger of getting considerably worse. " He added: "If the public lose trust in being treated fairly by the police, can he take some action, end this divisive practice of two-tier policing, and make sure that all British citizens are treated the same?
" However, speaking in Prime Minister’s Questions, Keir Starmer rejected Mr Farage's claims, saying he did not "believe there's two-tier policing" in the UK. He said: "I don’t believe there’s two-tier policing in this country. I’m really shocked that he pretends to have respect for Henry’s family and then acts in this way.
"The grieving family have asked us not to respond in the way that the leader of Reform has responded. They’ve asked us not to. They have lost their son in the most appalling circumstance. They make a simple plea of us as human beings to please not exploit that.
That is their plea to us.
" He continued: "We all need to reflect on those words of Henry’s father. My response, and the response of others to be fair, has been focused on the lessons to be learned, so we can deliver justice. His response has been to appeal for rage, rage. That’s his response to a father who has lost his son and asked for that not to happen.
"Exploiting this tragedy to create grievance and division would be wrong in any circumstances, but to do it when the family are expressly saying ‘please don’t’ is unforgivable. It shows exactly who he is.
" No 10 also confirmed the Prime Minister "would be open to meeting" Henry Nowak’s family "if they so wished", adding that any travel to Southampton would be set out in the usual way. Downing Street added that the National Police Chiefs’ Council is "rightly" seeking to remove "ambiguity" from its commitment to anti-racism in the wake of Henry Nowak’s murder.
Sir Keir's spokesman told reporters: "The NPCC is rightly reviewing the document to ensure there’s no ambiguity in their guidance. We don’t think that language is right.
" Asked which wording the Prime Minister takes issue with, the official said "that is for the NPCC to review" and "I’m not going to go through the guidance line by line. "
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