One word is missing from Keir Starmer's response to far-right rioters and people aren't impressed

This weekend has seen disturbing and violent footage emerge from the streets of London as far-right protesters descended on the capital.

Under the guise of “defending statues” which were defaced or removed by Black Lives Matter protesters the previous weekend, far-right protesters engaged in xenophobic chanting and were filmed attacking police. Some were even seen doing what appeared to be a ‘Nazi salute’ near a war memorial.

The far-right groups had gathered in London to “counter protest” a second weekend of Black Lives Matter protests, but these protests were called off at the last minute. The statues these groups claim to be defending were also boarded up for safety, so it’s unclear why the protest was necessary.

People on social media have described the protest as “white power marches” and “overtly racist”. The rioters were overwhelmingly white and male and onlookers said many of them appeared to be intoxicated and eager to instigate fights with police, journalists, the public and even each other.

Boris Johnson went on Twitter and called out the “racist thuggery” of the protesters, saying that “racism has on part in the UK”.

While Keir Starmer also tweeted his opposition to the protesters.

But on social media, people weren’t exactly thrilled that Starmer stopped short of using the word “racist” or “racism”.

They're wondering, if the Tory PM feels confident using that word, then why can’t a Labour leader do the same?

On social media, people (particularly Labour supporters) weren’t happy that Starmer appeared to be less confident calling out racism than Boris Johnson, a man with a long history of making racist comments.

It looks like, in the eyes of many of his supporters, Starmer is going to have to go further in condemning far-right racism.