Nigel Farage has called for Parliament to be recalled after a series of riots across England.
The Reform UK leader and Clacton MP insisted MPs must return to Westminster during the summer break for an “honest debate” about immigration.
He also hit out at Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s “faltering” response to the crisis and warned the army may need to be brought in.
It comes as Downing Street is expected to hold a Cobra emergency response meeting on Monday after “thugs” tried to storm hotels housing asylum seekers on the sixth day of escalating disorder.
In a statement on X, Mr Farage said: “I have been totally appalled by the levels of violence seen in the last couple of days.
“The level of intimidation and threat to life have no place in a functioning democracy.
“That so many police officers have been injured trying to keep the peace is shocking, and we should not discount the use of the army if the situation were to deteriorate further.
“In the short term, we will quell the riots, but deeper long-term problems remain.
“Ever since the soft policing of the Black Lives Matter protests, the impression of two-tier policing has become widespread.
“The Prime Minister’s faltering attempts to address the current crisis have only added to that sense of injustice.
“The majority of our population can see the fracturing of our communities as a result of mass, uncontrolled immigration, whether legal or illegal.
“Yet to attempt to debate this in the public arena leads to immediate howls of condemnation.
“A population explosion without integration was always going to end badly, I have said this for many years.
“We must have a more honest debate about these vital issues and give people the confidence that there are political solutions that are relevant to them.
“A recall of Parliament would be an appropriate start to this.”