The Prime Minister has clashed with Reform UK’s deputy leader over the violent protests in Northern Ireland.
In a fiery Prime Minister’s Questions, Sir Keir Starmer accused Richard Tice and his party of trying to “whip up fear and division”.
People have been forced to flee their homes amid a night of disorder in Belfast following a knife attack on Monday.
Hadi Alodid, a 30-year-old Sudanese man, has been charged with attempted murder and appeared in court on Wednesday.
Mr Tice told the Commons: “We all condemn, of course, the appalling violence in Belfast last night after the horrific attack on Monday, but this Prime Minister, is in denial of the rising despair across the country over his failure to stop the boats and related criminality, his failure to recognise two-tier policing, his failures over Mandelson, his failures over the scourge of anti-Semitism.
“He's lost the confidence of the country, his own trade union members, and his own very quiet back benches. When will he do the right thing, and when will this Prime Minister resign?”
Sir Keir accused Mr Tice of attempting to “exploit” the protests in Belfast as well as other recent high-profile cases, such as the murder of student Henry Novak.
“Now we have a very difficult situation in Northern Ireland, where families and communities are extremely frightened,” the PM said.
“What do they do? They try to whip up fear and division because that's all they've got.
“And he talks about stopping the boats.
“When we passed legislation to help stop the boats, what did they do? They voted against it.”
Acts of violence and arson in north Belfast are “totally unjustified”, the Prime Minister has added.
Speaking at the beginning of Prime Minister’s Questions, Sir Keir said: “People are rightly sickened by the horrific attack on Monday night in north Belfast.
“As you have just said, the man arrested has been in court in Belfast this morning and charged.
“I want to thank the Police Service of Northern Ireland and other first responders and members of the public who responded with such bravery, and our thoughts are with the victim.
“But, let me be clear, the acts of violence and arson that followed are totally unjustified.
“This morning I spoke with the First Minister, the Deputy First Minister and the Chief Constable, and the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland is meeting leaders in Belfast today.
“We are united in calling for calm and determined to restore order, support the police and all those on the front line, and ensure that justice is done.”
