Former South Thanet MP Craig Mackinlay has said those involved in the violent disorder following the killings of three little girls in Southport are not limited to extremists.

Mackinlay, who lost his arms and legs to sepsis, said that although the demonstrations were organised by the far-right, “normal people” are attending to voice their dissatisfaction with the state of the country.

Speaking to GB News on Chopper's Political Podcast, the former Common Sense Group Tory said: “If the far right are that good at organising things then they’re far better at organising things than any political party or Government that I know in the UK. So I actually don’t believe it fully.

“There’s always going to be some nutters, and they should be dealt with very robustly, and they should be in prison where appropriate.

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"I’m fully in favour of all of that. But if you look at some of these rallies that are going on, there are lots of couples on these rallies that you’d expect to go and see in the Dog and Duck on a Friday afternoon. These are normal people.”

He added: “This is almost one of those moments where I think a lot of people have said, forget what Southport was actually all about. It actually made people rather annoyed about the state of Britain today.”

Mackinlay, who stood down from the House of Commons after undergoing a quadruple amputation following a sepsis infection, appeared on GB News alongside fellow ex-Tory MP Greg Clark yesterday.