After the worst week of his political career, Keir Starmer has taken the time to watch his favourite football team while London braces for protester violence.
The Prime Minister attended the Arsenal match at the Emirates with his son while police prepared for thousands of angry protesters to descend upon central London.
The Met announced it has deployed 1,600 officers across the capital today, including 500 brought in from other forces.
While Starmer watches Arsenal play against Nottingham Forest, around 1,000 officers will be on duty at counter protests.
Officers will be at a ‘Unite the Kingdom’ march led by Tommy Robinson and a ‘March Against Fascism’ organised by Stand Up To Racism.
The remaining 600 will be at other-high profile events including the six Premier league events taking place.
Scotland Yard will have to contend with derbies between West Ham and Tottenham and Brentford and Chelsea, while Charlton will entertain local rivals Millwall in the Championship.
In addition, thousands of Leeds fans will be heading south for their match at Fulham, Nottingham Forest are away at Arsenal and Sunderland are playing Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.
After the worst week of his political career, Keir Starmer has taken the time to watch his favourite football team while London braces for protestor violence
The Prime Minister attended the Arsenal match at the Emirates with his son while police prepared for thousands of angry protestors to descend upon central London
The Prime Minister has previously faced criticism over his support for his beloved Arsenal – having accepted more than £35,000 worth of free tickets
This week, the Labour leader has faced one of the biggest hurdles in his political life.
Pressure on the Prime Minister has risen following the departure of former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner and US ambassador Lord Mandelson.
Meanwhile, Labour Manchester mayor Andy Burnham could be preparing to challenge Keir Starmer for PM, with a sitting MP allegedly ready to stand down to let him back into Parliament.
The Labour Mayor of Greater Manchester is an outspoken critic of government despite being in the same party as his Prime Minister, and is a fierce supporter of Lucy Powell in the race to become Labour Deputy Leader.
Powell is widely seen as the anti-Starmer candidate, and is pipped to be one half of a two-horse race against Cabinet member and Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson.
Burnham has now put his weight behind new Labour movement Mainstream, a new network of party figures who are critical of Starmer and, more broadly, government.
The campaign wants to see the introduction of wealth taxes, the nationalisation of utility companies and an end to the two-child benefit cap.
And he is expected to explicitly criticise the Prime Minister at the Labour Party conference later this month, where hustings for the race to become Deputy Labour Leader will take place.
While Starmer watches Arsenal play against Nottingham Forest, around 1,000 officers will be on duty at counter protests in the capital
Officers will be at a ‘Unite the Kingdom’ march led by Tommy Robinson and a ‘March Against Fascism’ organised by Stand Up To Racism
The Labour Mayor of Greater Manchester is an outspoken critic of government despite being in the same party as his Prime Minister
The holiday snap that triggered his downfall: Lord Mandelson in a fluffy white dressing gown enjoying a chat with ‘best pal’ Epstein
Despite being the only Labour politician with a net positive approval rating, he is not a sitting MP.
Labour sources have said that one of Manchester’s own MPs, who is in ill health, is ready to step down – which would trigger a by-election which Burnham could conceivably stand in.
On top of this, the PM was forced to sack US ambassador Lord Mandelson after after emails showed he had sent messages of support even as Epstein faced jail for sex offences.
Starmer hired the US representative even though concerns were reportedly raised during the vetting process.
However, the Foreign Office said new emails showed ‘the depth and extent of Peter Mandelson’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein is materially different from that known at the time of his appointment‘.
The Prime Minister has previously faced criticism over his support for his beloved Arsenal – having accepted more than £35,000 worth of free tickets.
Meanwhile, his Government has been working on a law to create a football regulator that is opposed by many Premier League clubs.
This is because it will have the power to stop teams joining breakaway leagues and block investment from controversial countries.
