We need your help now
Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.
You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.
If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.
Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
By continuing, you are indicating that you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
LAST UPDATE | 5 Aug 2024
THE NORTHERN IRELAND Assembly will be recalled later this week to discuss violent scenes after an anti-immigration protest in Belfast.
Several businesses were attacked during the violence on Saturday and business owners said the Islamic community was deliberately targeted.
Four men appeared in court today to face charges linked to the violence.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said this evening they are aware of social media posts calling for protests across Northern Ireland in the week ahead.
The PSNI said officers will monitor the situation and will be engaging with groups likely to be affected by any protests.
First Minister Michelle O’Neill and deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly said there is “no justification for racism or for the violence and intimidation that occurred on our streets on Saturday”.
A special meeting of Belfast City Council is also set to take place this evening.
Earlier, Stormont Speaker Edwin Poots said the Assembly will be recalled at noon on Thursday after a recall petition submitted by the Alliance Party and backed by the SDLP and Sinn Fein.
MLAs will discuss a motion condemning “criminal damage and targeting of businesses in recent days”.
The motion also calls on O’Neill and Little-Pengelly to finalise the draft Refugee Integration Strategy and associated Thematic Delivery Plan and present it to the Executive, and to bring forward the renewed Race Relations Order, and set out the process of replacing the Racial Equality Strategy 2015/25 by the end of 2024.
The Northern Ireland Executive is to engage with the Irish government over the role that some Irish citizens played during the riots in Belfast this weekend.
Northern Irish justice minister Naomi Long told RTÉ Radio One this morning that she plans to speak with her Irish counterparts in the Republic over their involvement but also over the narrative on migration in recent months.
Mass anti-immigration protests across the United Kingdom this weekend turned violent in many areas, including in Belfast, and the scenes of unrest and rioting have sparked emergency ministerial meetings in Westminster and Stormont.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said this morning that four men, aged between 35 and 53 years old, have been charged in relation to reports of violence and disorder on the streets of Belfast on Saturday.
The PSNI deployed riot officers in Belfast on Saturday after anti-immigrant protests, largely fueled by far-right mis- and disinformation online, turned violent. Many similar scenes were seen right across the UK.
While ministers in Northern Ireland will meet with the PSNI today about the incidents in Belfast, Long said an overdue conversation must happen between Stormont and Dublin over the narrative around migration.
“We need to be responsible in terms of what we say as politicians in leadership, and I think that the increasing tensions around the immigration conversation over recent months has been profoundly unhelpful in managing all of this,” Long told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland this morning.
“I think we need to get back on the same page when it comes to the language we use, the concerns that we express and how we do that in a moderate and temperate manner,” she added.
Long said that public representatives, North and South, need to avoid raising any tensions that could later fuel further protests or “hysteria”, which she said had “taken hold” over the weekend.
Police officers all over the UK were injured and businesses, particularly immigrant-owned shops, were vandalised or destroyed during the mass rioting. The events have been condemned by the British and Irish governments.
Taoiseach Simon Harris yesterday spoke with Michelle O’Neill to discuss the violent scenes in Belfast.
During the call, Harris expressed disgust at those flying the Irish Tricolour whilst attacking police and spouting racism. “This is repugnant to everything the Irish flag represents,” a statement from his Department said yesterday.
O’Neill said: “There is no place in this society for racism or the attacks on our minority communities which took place at the weekend.”
“Today, I spoke to PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher and we agreed that the shared priority is to protect lives and property and face down racism, violence and intimidation.
“Co-operation between the PSNI and An Garda Siochana is essential so that those responsible for causing and orchestrating the racist violence on Saturday will face the full force of the law.
“As a Government and as a society we must all work together to deliver a shared, peaceful and inclusive society.”
The planned demonstrations got underway on Saturday as tensions remain high after the killing of three young girls at a Taylor Swift-themed holiday club in Southport, Merseyside, last week.
Axel Muganwa Rudakubana, 17, from Lancashire, is accused of the attack, but false claims spread online that the suspect was an asylum seeker who had arrived in the UK by boat.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said yesterday that the police have his “full support” to take action against “extremists” attempting to “sow hate” by intimidating communities as he held emergency talks with ministers over the unrest in parts of England.
During a press conference this afternoon, Starmer said he would “not shy away from calling it what it is, far-right thuggery”.
SDLP leader Matthew O’Toole condemned the violence earlier today.
“Let me be clear – there can be no room to equivocate around this issue. What we are dealing with is thugs intent on spreading fear and misinformation and attacking vulnerable people,” the Opposition leader said.
“Their hateful message will never win and that must be spoken with one voice during the Assembly recall this week. Any attempt to excuse or diminish what we saw over the past few days must be fully rejected and no quarter given to those behind this disorder.”
A number of countries have issued advice to their citizens warning them to steer clear of far-right riots and demonstrations.
Nigeria, Malaysia and Indonesia have all sent out alerts, giving advice to their nationals living in or visiting the UK to stay away from demonstrations.
A “travel alert” by Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, based in the capital Abuja, stated that there is “an increased risk of violence and disorder occasioned by the recent riots in the UK”, noting that “the violence has assumed dangerous proportions”.
It went on: “Demonstrations by far right and other extra-parliamentary groups in parts of the UK in recent weeks have been large, and in some instances unruly.”
The High Commission of Malaysia in London posted a message online which read: “Malaysians residing in or travelling to the United Kingdom are urged to stay away from protest areas, remain vigilant and follow the latest updates and guidance provided by local authorities.”
It also “strongly encouraged” people to register with it to “receive timely information and assistance”.
The Indonesian embassy in London also issued a warning, advising its citizens in the UK to avoid large crowds and increase their vigilance.
Many countries around the world, including the US, Germany and Denmark, issued travel advice to their citizens following riots in England in summer 2011.
With reporting from Press Association and David Mac Redmond
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Use precise geolocation data. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Store and/or access information on a device. Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development.
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work.
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then these services may not function properly.
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not be able to monitor our performance.
Cookies, device or similar online identifiers (e.g. login-based identifiers, randomly assigned identifiers, network based identifiers) together with other information (e.g. browser type and information, language, screen size, supported technologies etc.) can be stored or read on your device to recognise it each time it connects to an app or to a website, for one or several of the purposes presented here.
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times an ad is presented to you).
Information about your activity on this service (such as forms you submit, content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (for example, information from your previous activity on this service and other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (that might include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present advertising that appears more relevant based on your possible interests by this and other entities.
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on your advertising profiles, which can reflect your activity on this service or other websites or apps (like the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects.
Information about your activity on this service (for instance, forms you submit, non-advertising content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (such as your previous activity on this service or other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (which might for example include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present content that appears more relevant based on your possible interests, such as by adapting the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find content that matches your interests.
Content presented to you on this service can be based on your content personalisation profiles, which can reflect your activity on this or other services (for instance, the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects. This can for example be used to adapt the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find (non-advertising) content that matches your interests.
Information regarding which advertising is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine how well an advert has worked for you or other users and whether the goals of the advertising were reached. For instance, whether you saw an ad, whether you clicked on it, whether it led you to buy a product or visit a website, etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of advertising campaigns.
Information regarding which content is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine whether the (non-advertising) content e.g. reached its intended audience and matched your interests. For instance, whether you read an article, watch a video, listen to a podcast or look at a product description, how long you spent on this service and the web pages you visit etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of (non-advertising) content that is shown to you.
Reports can be generated based on the combination of data sets (like user profiles, statistics, market research, analytics data) regarding your interactions and those of other users with advertising or (non-advertising) content to identify common characteristics (for instance, to determine which target audiences are more receptive to an ad campaign or to certain contents).
Information about your activity on this service, such as your interaction with ads or content, can be very helpful to improve products and services and to build new products and services based on user interactions, the type of audience, etc. This specific purpose does not include the development or improvement of user profiles and identifiers.
Content presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type, or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times a video or an article is presented to you).
With your acceptance, your precise location (within a radius of less than 500 metres) may be used in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
With your acceptance, certain characteristics specific to your device might be requested and used to distinguish it from other devices (such as the installed fonts or plugins, the resolution of your screen) in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Your data can be used to monitor for and prevent unusual and possibly fraudulent activity (for example, regarding advertising, ad clicks by bots), and ensure systems and processes work properly and securely. It can also be used to correct any problems you, the publisher or the advertiser may encounter in the delivery of content and ads and in your interaction with them.
Certain information (like an IP address or device capabilities) is used to ensure the technical compatibility of the content or advertising, and to facilitate the transmission of the content or ad to your device.
Information about your activity on this service may be matched and combined with other information relating to you and originating from various sources (for instance your activity on a separate online service, your use of a loyalty card in-store, or your answers to a survey), in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
In support of the purposes explained in this notice, your device might be considered as likely linked to other devices that belong to you or your household (for instance because you are logged in to the same service on both your phone and your computer, or because you may use the same Internet connection on both devices).
Your device might be distinguished from other devices based on information it automatically sends when accessing the Internet (for instance, the IP address of your Internet connection or the type of browser you are using) in support of the purposes exposed in this notice.
The choices you make regarding the purposes and entities listed in this notice are saved and made available to those entities in the form of digital signals (such as a string of characters). This is necessary in order to enable both this service and those entities to respect such choices.
have your say