THE SNP’s Westminster leader has issued a statement following a series of far-right riots across England and Northern Ireland at the weekend.

It comes after the Prime Minister chaired an emergency Cobra meeting on Monday after violence erupted in areas such as Middlesbrough, Rotherham and Belfast. 

Police clashed with crowds as the escalating violence – one week on from the Southport stabbings – continued with several suspects due to face charges in court.

In a thread posted on Twitter/X, Stephen Flynn said the “fascists, racists and Islamophobes dragging their knuckles through some parts of England and NI do not have any ‘legitimate concerns’.”

“Their world is full of hate. It is not just to be pitied. It is to be rejected. Without equivocation.”

Flynn continued: “I have full confidence that Keir Starmer will ensure that they face the full force of the law, and that those who have stood on the thin blue line against them will receive the credit they so richly deserve.

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“But what comes next is so important. For too long, many senior politicians have failed to argue in favour of our moral and legal responsibilities to those seeking asylum.

“They have competed over slogans and who sounds more ‘tough,’ rather than creating a climate of understanding with actual solutions.”

Flynn also said that he did not expect Parliament to be recalled despite growing calls to do so and added that he thought this would “give MPs time to reflect and respond with the courage I hope they know they have”.

His post added: “For too long, too many senior politicians have failed to argue in favour of the benefits of migration.

“No courage to argue those who care for us, staff our NHS, harvest our crops, heat our homes and study in our universities are of benefit to our economy and our society.

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“That political cowardice must end. Serious politicians must be willing to stand up for what they know to be true, and to argue that the problems facing society aren’t the consequence of those who wish to make the UK their home.

“The only way to defeat right-wing populism, that has swamped the minds of those destroying their own streets, is to be confident enough to stand against it.

“With arguments borne out of evidence and by politicians with the courage to stand by their values.

“Listening to the rhetoric of senior politicians on panel shows, and in the House of Commons, on these issues over recent years suggests that this won’t be a fault they readily recognise nor accept.

“But I hope that what they now see will alter the path they have chosen.”