Lammy demands Tory deputy chair apologise for making fun of arson at Starmer home on TV

David Lammy has launched a blistering attack on Conservative deputy chair Matt Vickers, accusing him of laughing and joking about the arson attack on Sir Keir Starmer’s home and joining in with “demeaning homophobic remarks” during a television interview. The Deputy Prime Minister told Vickers to “grow up, apologise and do considerably better” after the MP for Stockton South used a question on youth unemployment to instead face a dressing-down from the government frontbench.

Lammy’s condemnation came during Commons exchanges as he stood in for the Prime Minister. He specifically referenced an appearance by Vickers on Jeremy Kyle’s Talk TV show, where the Conservative deputy chair was seen laughing as the presenter made homophobic comments – including asking whether the attackers were “rent boys” – and promoted conspiracy theories about the fire that broke out at Starmer’s North London home in May 2025. “He’s laughing and joking about the arson attack on the prime minister’s home,” Lammy told the chamber. “Not only that, he joined with promoting conspiracies about the attack and laughed along to demeaning homophobic remarks. He should be ashamed of himself.”

The arson attack, which saw fires at the prime minister’s private residence, the front door of a nearby apartment building and a car on the same street, was investigated by counter-terrorism police. In June 2026, two men – Roman Lavrynovych, a Ukrainian national, and Stanislav Carpiuc, a Ukrainian-born Romanian national – were convicted of conspiracy to commit arson at the Old Bailey, with Lavrynovych also found guilty of arson being reckless as to whether life would be endangered. A third man, Petro Pochynok, was acquitted. Investigators later linked the attacks to a Russian online sabotage network aligned with the pro-Kremlin hacktivist group NoName057(16), which had also been involved in recruiting individuals in the UK for anti-Islamic graffiti.

Lammy’s rebuke of Vickers, who as deputy chair of the Conservative Party holds a senior internal role, drew a sharp line under what the government sees as unacceptable behaviour from a mainstream political figure in the wake of a serious security incident.

Asylum dispersal concerns

Attention then turned to the government’s asylum dispersal policy, after Mark Pritchard, the Conservative MP for The Wrekin, warned that 121 asylum seekers were being sent to Stoke Heath – a small, isolated rural settlement within his constituency. Pritchard said this represented a 35 per cent increase in the local population, an impact he likened to 44,000 people being moved into Lammy’s own constituency. “Whilst this is a tolerant nation and a compassionate nation and an understanding nation,” he said, “does the deputy prime minister agree with me that that level of dispersal into a small, isolated rural community is just isn’t fair?”

Lammy responded by pointing to the government’s record on reducing net migration and acknowledged the tension between calling for the removal of illegal migrants and objecting to their detention. He said he did not know the specifics of the Stoke Heath case but that an immigration minister would review it. The dispersal policy, introduced under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, is designed to distribute asylum seekers across the UK on a “no choice basis” to prevent any single area from being overburdened. The Home Office operates an advisory cluster limit of one asylum seeker for every 200 settled residents, based on 2001 census figures, though local authorities can negotiate variations.

Josh Babarinde, the Liberal Democrat MP for Eastbourne, raised the future of his town’s iconic pier, whose operating company, Lions Pier Limited, has been forced into liquidation. Babarinde – who revealed he has a tattoo of the pier and joked about showing it to Lammy – asked what the government was doing to protect the landmark. Lammy, laughing off the invitation, confirmed that £20 million was being allocated to Eastbourne through the Pride in Place scheme, a ten-year government programme that invests up to £20 million in individual neighbourhoods to support cleaner streets, local businesses, opportunities for young people and greener communities.

Conservative MP Bradley Thomas pressed the government on the impact of US steel tariffs. Lammy described the issue as “serious” and said the government had legislated to assist the steel industry. The UK steel sector faces a 25 per cent tariff on exports to the US – lower than the global rate of 50 per cent but still a significant blow, with UK Steel warning it could affect the industry’s £400 million contribution to the balance of trade. The issue was also raised at the G7 summit, where UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer signed a trade deal covering aerospace and autos, though steel was excluded from the tariff reductions.

Louie French, Conservative MP for Old Bexley and Sidcup, asked whether Lammy agreed that Sadiq Khan was wrong to block the Metropolitan Police from awarding a £50 million contract to the US tech firm Palantir for AI-powered intelligence analysis. French argued the decision would make Londoners less safe. Lammy refused to be drawn into criticising the mayor, saying he would “take no lectures from the Tories on crime” given the record of former prime minister Boris Johnson. Khan had cited a “clear and serious breach” of procurement rules, noting the Met had only engaged with Palantir and failed to present a proper strategy; he also raised concerns about the company’s ethics and value for money. Palantir, which already holds contracts with the NHS and the Ministry of Defence, threatened to sue Khan over the blocked deal.

Labour MP Sarah Owen drew attention to the Reform UK candidate in Makerfield, Robert Kenyon, who has been found to have made a series of offensive online comments. Owen said Kenyon had described most abortions as being for “vanity purposes”, endorsed a sexually explicit remark about Carol Vorderman, and welcomed a “woman-beater” into the party’s ranks. Lammy said he was “utterly appalled” by the comments, which also included Kenyon stating that Vladimir Putin was within his rights to invade Ukraine. “When the Reform leader was asked about them, his answer was, ‘So what?’” Lammy said. “This speaks volumes about Reform. The only way to stop their politics of grievance is to vote Labour.”

Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper asked whether the government would back her party’s plan to fund defence spending through bonds and whether Labour should tear up its “red lines” on closer ties with the European Union. Lammy replied that the government was working with allies to improve defence procurement and funding, and confirmed it was sticking to its red lines but wanted a sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) deal to improve trade as well as a youth experience scheme.

Claire Hanna, leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party, told MPs that loyalist paramilitaries were involved in recent rioting in Belfast, describing the violence as a “pogrom”. She asked the government to review how the Northern Ireland executive was handling the problem. Lammy called the events “racism” and drew a parallel to the 1950s when his father arrived in Britain to signs reading “No blacks, no dogs, no Irish”. He announced an additional £24 million to tackle paramilitarism and incitement to hatred online, as part of the government’s social cohesion plan. The Independent Reporting Commission has warned that paramilitary involvement is exacerbating anti-immigration unrest and that these groups may be encouraging young people to participate in disorder.

Conservative MP Claire Coutinho – who was not identified by full name in the exchanges – posed a series of challenging questions to Lammy, asking why half the defence team had resigned, whether Ed Miliband had “ghosted” the Prime Minister on a matter of national security, and why half the cabinet would soon be taking a pay cut. Lammy countered by noting that under the Tories two defence secretaries – Gavin Williamson and Michael Fallon – had quit in disgrace, and that Ben Wallace had admitted to “hollowing out” the armed forces. He dismissed the allegation about Ed Miliband, telling Coutinho not to believe everything she read in the papers, and confirmed that the energy department would contribute to the defence investment plan. He added that energy bills would be higher if the UK had followed the advice of Kemi Badenoch and become involved in the Iran war.