Politics latest: Elon Musk 'delusional' for suggesting UK heading for 'civil war', says Tory leadership candidate (2024)

The prime minister has cancelled his holiday as he remains on "high alert" for more potential unrest after the recent riots.

But the disorder does appear to have petered out, as perpetrators are sentenced across the country and after counter-protesters turned out in large numbers last week.

On the Sky News Daily, Niall Paterson speaks to Tawhid Islam, trustee at Liverpool Region Mosque Network, after the protests his community feared were overshadowed.

Plus, our people and communities correspondent Nick Martin on how swift justice may have deterred protesters and delivered a political victory for the new government.

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Responding to a question from Sky News political correspondent Tamara Cohen, Tom Tugendhat emphasises hits out at those who try to impact British politics from abroad.

It's "unacceptable" for those outside the UK to try to influence the rule of law.

Mr Tugendhat points to his creation of the defending democracy taskforce while a government minister.

Later, he comments on Elon Musk's commentary on the UK riots and trolling of the prime minister, when he suggested the country was heading for "civil war".

The billionaire's remarks were "delusional", he says.

For more on his Tory leadership campaign speech, see our 14.26 post.

Former security minister Tom Tugendhat is giving his first big speech in his campaign to replace Rishi Sunak as leader of the Conservative Party.

He is speaking on the topic of law and order, and says politicians have "avoided being brutally honest about underlying social unrest".

His lists examples like the recent Southport stabbings and the murder of MP Sir David Amess by a "fanatical Islamist".

Mr Tugendhat attacks Nigel Farage for spreading false information about the Southport stabbings, and Home Office minister Jess Phillips for not condemning Muslim men who threatened a news crew during the unrest.

He accuses Sir Keir Starmer of a "failure of leadership" - and says the PM should have sacked Ms Phillips.

While rubbishing the claims of "two-tier policing", Mr Tugendhat does say public order policing "has been inconsistent and too often too weak", pointing towards pro-Palestine marches.

Analysis: Tories scramble to look tough on law and order

Ourcorrespondent Matthew Thompsonhas been watching the campaign speech and says it's part of a "scramble" by each Tory leadership hopeful to "make themselves look as tough as possible".

Each recognises the need to appear strong on law and order given the recent riots.

Mr Tugendhat does have "form on this", given his past as a security minister.

But Matthew questions the promise of this being a "significant" speech.

It's well and good making "eloquent denunciations" of things that have gone wrong, he says, but "concrete policy" is harder to come by.

On this quiet day of summer recess in Westminster, we do at least have a live event to bring you.

Tory leadership hopeful Tom Tugendhat is giving the first speech of his campaign and the focus will be on law and order.

The former security minister is expected to talk plenty about the recent riots and the government's response to them.

You can watch the event below in the next 10 minutes or so, and we'll bring you the highlights in a separate post.

There are still 81 days left until the new Conservative leader is announced - and a new poll suggests the public aren't bothered.

Ipsos says 60% of people they asked do not care who Rishi Sunak's successor is.

While this number is inverted for 2024 Conservative voters, as you'd expect, supporters of Labour, Reform, and the Lib Dems are all apathetic.

There are already concerns about the new leader's ability to make a splash when they come to power, as the US general election is just three days after they will be crowned.

'Brutal'

Keiran Pedley from Ipsos branded it "probably the most brutal polling for the Conservative I've seen from us".

In total, 1,141 people aged 18 to 75 were asked for their opinion between 2 August and 5 August.

If you're one of the 40%, we'll have coverage of Tom Tugendhat's first campaign speech shortly.

The other contenders are Kemi Badenoch, James Cleverly, Priti Patel, Mel Stride, and Robert Jenrick.

It's fair to say Elon Musk probably won't be on Sir Keir Starmer's Christmas card list this year.

The billionaire was a keen commentator on the recent riots in the UK, regularly trolling the prime minister on his controversial social media platform about accusations of "two-tier policing".

But Mr Musk does have at least have a former PM in his corner.

Liz Truss has criticised what she perceives as "attacks on free speech" in Britain and Europe and praised Musk for "standing up to these bullies".

Ms Truss is no longer an MP, after losing her seat at the election.

Musk's X under scrutiny

It comes after Sir Keir repeatedly warned social media firms about the role their platforms played in the riots.

The government has suggested it may look to bulk up legislation to ensure these companies crack down on harmful and illegal content.

And Mr Musk also received a warning from the EU ahead of a live conversation with Donald Trump broadcast on X last night.

Commissioner Thierry Breton had told Mr Musk to make sure the chat stayed within the bloc's digital services law, notably around amplifying harmful content.

Mr Musk responded by tweeting an insulting meme, while the Trump campaign told the EU to "mind their own business".

Health Secretary Wes Streeting has given further reaction to a damning report into the case of Valdo Calocane (see 10.43 post).

A Care Quality Commission review found Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust "minimised or omitted" key details of the risks Calocane posed to others.

Calocane - who has paranoid schizophrenia - fatally stabbed 19-year-old students Barnaby Webber and Grace O'Malley-Kumar before killing 65-year-old caretaker Ian Coates in June 2023.

Mr Streeting said the review made clear there were "multiple and fundamental failures on the part of the NHS".

'Shocking' decision to discharge

These covered Calocane's supervision, the provision of medication, what happened when he wasn't taking it, and - "shockingly" - the fact he was discharged for not attending appointments when non-attendance "should have provoked closer supervision".

Mr Streeting added he "can't imagine" the grief the families of the victims are going through "knowing that these deaths were preventable".

The Nottinghamshire trust was already working to make changes before the report was published, he said, and the NHS nationally is also ensure such cases are not repeated.

David Lammy, the foreign secretary, has spent much of his time in his new role trying to prevent further bloodshed in the Middle East.

With tensions high over a potential attack from Iran on Israel, the ministersays the region is at a "critical moment".

Mr Lammy says he has spoken to Lebanese Prime MinisterNajib Mikati "about the need for all parties to urgently and immediately de-escalate".

We've been feeding off scraps in the Politics Hub today, so much so we might join you in taking a proper lunch break.

While you tuck into your sandwich, here's your midday bulletin:

• Iran has rejected calls from the UK and its allies for a de-escalation in the Middle East, amid fears an attack on Israel is in the offing;
• Sir Keir Starmer spoke to Iran's president last night to stress the need for "calm", but his intervention - along with those of the US, France, Italy, and Germany - hasn't gone down well in Tehran.

• Tory leadership contender Tom Tugendhat will give his first speech of the campaign this afternoon, focusing on law and order after the recent riots;
• We'll bring you coverage of the event from around 2.15pm.

• The chancellor has said there's "more to do" to get people into work after new unemployment figures were released;
• They showed a slight drop in the rate of unemployment, from 4.4% to 4.2%, which the Tories have said is evidence their economic plan was working.

That's all for now - we'll have Mr Tugendhat's campaign event for you later and whatever other political news comes our way.

Ofgem has approved the construction of a new electricity "superhighway" between Scotland and England.

The 300-mile Eastern Green Link 2 will stretch from Aberdeenshire to North Yorkshire and be able to transport vast amounts of power - enough to power two million homes.

It will largely be under the North Sea.

Industry minister Sarah Jones welcomed the decision, saying it would help the UK reduce its reliance on fossil fuel imports.

It will also support jobs and save money in the long run, she said.