Sir Keir Starmer cancels summer holiday to Europe so he can deal with wave of violent riots
SIR Keir Starmer has cancelled his summer holiday to deal with the wave of violent riots.
The PM planned to get away to Europe with wife Lady Vic and their two children in their first break since the General Election.
But he will instead split the coming week between Downing Street and his Buckinghamshire country home Chequers.
A No10 source said: “Keir is first and foremost a public servant. He leads a government focused on delivering for working people and keeping them safe.
“That’s why, like countless police officers who have cancelled leave to crack down on violent thuggery, he’ll continue working next week to keep the country safe.
“Make no mistake, government of self-interest is over. Government of public service is back.”
Former PM Boris Johnson had said Sir Keir should take a summer getaway, as his leadership had made “no difference”.
But when he was London mayor Mr Johnson initially rejected calls to return from his own break as looters took to the streets in 2011.
And in 2021, then-Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab was fiercely criticised when he failed to come back from a plush break in Crete as Afghanistan fell to the Taliban.
Mr Raab was forced to deny reports he was paddleboarding during the chaos.