Keir Starmer and the 2011 London riots: the lessons for today's unrest

PM's 'brutal' response 13 years ago when director of public prosecutions sent a 'very powerful message'

Photo composite of Keir Starmer and scenes of police and looting during the 2011 London riots
Starmer was responsible for the 'swift and severe' judicial reaction to the 2011 disorder, which started in London and spread to other English towns and cities
(Image credit: Illustration by Stephen Kelly / Getty Images)

Keir Starmer has ordered a new "standing army" of specialist police officers to be set up to tackle the far-right riots that have broken out across the UK and warned those taking part that they would "regret" their involvement.

The prime minister's "law and order response" to the violence that began in Southport "should not surprise anyone", said the i news site, because he had previously been a "key part of the justice system" that dealt with the 2011 riots in England.

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  Chas Newkey-Burden has been part of The Week Digital team for more than a decade and a journalist for 25 years, starting out on the irreverent football weekly 90 Minutes, before moving to lifestyle magazines Loaded and Attitude. He was a columnist for The Big Issue and landed a world exclusive with David Beckham that became the weekly magazine’s bestselling issue. He now writes regularly for The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Independent, Metro, FourFourTwo and the i new site. He is also the author of a number of non-fiction books.