Tory leadership hopeful Tugendhat attacks ‘reckless rhetoric’ of Farage over UK riots

Tory leadership contender Tom Tugendhat will call for a national conversation about the root causes of the recent riots – hitting out at the “reckless rhetoric” of Nigel Farage.

In his first major speech since declaring his bid to head the Conservative Party, the former security minister will attack a “culture of denial” that moves on too quickly from acts of serious violence without discussing why they have happened.

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“Too often, over the last two decades or more, we have avoided being brutally honest, preferring instead the warmth and false comfort of denial and complacency,” Mr Tugendhat will say on Tuesday.

“We need to end the culture of denial – the tendency to move hurriedly on from acts of extreme violence, to obfuscate about the identities and motives of the perpetrators.”

Mr Tugendhat will blame “the collapse of social trust” on the recent unrest, saying this has been fuelled by misinformation, the rise of both Islamist and far-right extremism and the “reckless political rhetoric” of Reform UK leader Mr Farage.

He will call for a renewed focus on common values, a positive patriotism and fundamental law and order to “rebuild society”.

Far-right violence broke out in towns and cities across the UK in the wake of a stabbing attack that left three girls dead in Southport on 29 July.

False rumours were circulated online claiming the suspect, who was born in Cardiff, was an asylum seeker who arrived in the UK by boat.

Mr Farage has faced criticism for questioning “whether the truth is being withheld from us” after the attack, and claiming there is an impression of two-tier policing in the UK.

He has denied helping to stoke the riots and said he condemns “all acts of political violence”.

Sky News has approached Reform UK for a response to Mr Tugendhat’s remarks on Mr Farage.

The comments by Mr Tugendhat come amid a split within the Conservatives about how to approach Reform UK, after it won four seats at the general election while the Tories were reduced to their lowest number ever.

This is the Tonbridge MP’s second bid for the Tories’ top job, having stood in the first leadership contest in 2022, when he was eliminated in the third round of voting by MPs.

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Former soldier Mr Tugendhat is one of six contenders vying to replace Rishi Sunak, alongside former home secretaries James Cleverly and Dame Priti Patel, former immigration minister Robert Jenrick, former business secretary Kemi Badenoch and former work and pensions secretary Mel Stride.

Some of those to have criticised Mr Farage in recent days include Mr Stride, who accused the Clacton MP of “fuelling conspiracy theories”, while Mr Cleverly said the Reform UK leader needs to decide if he is a politician or a “social media content creator”. Ms Patel said his comments about two-tier policing were “not correct”.

Elsewhere in his speech, Mr Tugendhat is expected to accuse the prime minister of a “failure of leadership” during the riots and urge the police to use “uncompromising force” in dealing with violent disorder.

He will also criticise Labour’s early prison release scheme – something the new government blamed on the overcrowding crisis it inherited from the Tories and which could mean rioters serving a reduced sentence.

Earlier, Downing Street said it will remain on “high alert” over the violent disorder despite tensions appearing to subside over the weekend.

Sir Keir Starmer has cancelled a planned holiday to Europe in order to “ensure that we can respond to the disorder”, a spokeswoman said.