Family of Belfast knife attack victim appeal for calm, in statement stressing ‘valuable contribution’ migrants make
The family of the victim in the Belfast knife attack have issued a statement
They ask for privacy and say they are “completely devastated by the horrific attack on our loved one”.
They praise those who came to their relative’s aid, saying:
double quotation mark We want to say a profound thank you to the local people who bravely stepped in during the attack. Your quick actions absolutely saved his life, and we will never forget what you did for him in that moment. We also want to thank the emergency services and the doctors and nurses looking after him.
And they urge those angered by the attack to refrain from violence, saying:
double quotation mark We are aware of the tensions and talk of protests following this incident. We want to make it absolutely clear that overnight unrest is not welcome, and peaceful protest is the only way forward.We have many migrants who make a deeply valuable contribution to our country, including in our healthcare system and hospitality sector and we depend on them to make our country work. We do not want this terrible tragedy to be used to divide people or fuel hostility.
Brett has posted the family’s statement on Facebook.
Key events
-
Farage claims ‘vast majority’ of people on streets in Belfast last night were not extremists, just concerned people
-
Farage says Reform UK would raise threshold for businesses to register for VAT from £90,000 to £150,000, at cost of £2bn
-
Minister agrees to investigate claim that young people in Northern Ireland being ‘groomed’ into rioting
-
SDLP leader Claire Hanna criticises those calling for ‘hardened border on island of Ireland’
-
UN human rights chief says anti-migrant violence in Southampton and Belfast ‘shocking’, blaming social media ‘incitement’
-
No 10 declines to say what Starmer meant by PMQs pledge to crack down on people like Musk fuelling division online
-
Racist violence in Glasgow last night left five people, including two police officers, injured, Police Scotland says
-
Sinn Féin’s president Mary Lou McDonald says Belfast rioting ‘orchestrated by loyalist and far-right thugs’
-
Hilary Benn says getting rid of common travel area not solution to illegal migration problems in Ireland
-
PSNI ready to deploy another 200 officers to quell disorder in Northern Ireland, chief constable says
-
Family of Belfast knife attack victim appeal for calm, in statement stressing ‘valuable contribution’ migrants make
-
DUP leader Gavin Robinson condemns ‘medieval’ attack and says ‘open, porous border’ should be closed
-
Starmer says government will crack down on people ‘fuelling division’, after Ed Davey condemns Musk over X posts
-
Starmer avoids question about higher defence spending will be funded
-
Starmer says violence in Belfast ‘totally unjustified’
-
Starmer faces Badenoch at PMQs
-
Labour rejects Tice’s explanation as to why Farage avoiding holding press conferences
-
John Swinney and other Scottish party leader condemn racist disorder in Glasgow
-
Judge warns anyone taking part in further disorder in Belfast should ‘expect to go to prison’
-
Police ‘strongly’ opposed to bail for Belfast knife suspect, court told
-
Belfast knife attack suspect remanded in custody for four weeks
-
Tice rejects as ‘outrageous’ suggestion that Farage’s ‘pure cold rage’ statement may have encouraged rioting
-
Court told victim in Belfast knife attack lost his left eye, as suspect named as Hadi Alodid
-
Richard Tice defends Braverman and Jenrick over complaints they were at Home Office when Belfast suspect got leave to remain
-
Starmer condemns Belfast disorder, and “those who encouraged it online”
-
Disorder stoked by those who would have ‘struggled to find Belfast on map’, says NI justice minister Naomi Long
-
PSNI chief constable defends releasing information about suspect’s nationality
-
Labour chair Anna Turley says Elon Musk’s interventions encouraging unrest in Belfast have been ‘appalling’
-
Man to appear in court over Belfast knife attack as rioting described as ‘race-based pogrom’ by SDLP leader
Farage claims ‘vast majority’ of people on streets in Belfast last night were not extremists, just concerned people
Farage turns to the events in Belfast last night.
He says the attack on Monday night was barbarous.
double quotation mark There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that this man [the accused] should not have been in this country. It is just as simple as that. He entered the country illegally. and is any surprise that people in Belfast and elsewhere are scared?
He says that does not justify what happened in Belfast last night.
double quotation mark None of that justifies what was perpetrated by some bad actors last night. There’s no doubt about that. There were some very, very bad actors doing bad things.
But, Farage went on:
double quotation mark But the vast majority of those people who were out on the streets in Belfast last night were not far-right, were not extremists, just [people] really scared about what’s going on in their communities and about the lack of government action.
He also claimed the events in Belfast showed how “incredibly disconnected” politicians in Westminster were from ordinary people.
Farage says Reform UK would raise threshold for businesses to register for VAT from £90,000 to £150,000, at cost of £2bn
Farage has an announcement. He says Reform UK would increase the VAT threshold for businesses (the point at which they would have to register for VAT) from £90,000 to £150,000.
He says this would cost about £2bn. But it would be worth it, he says, because it would lead to “changes in behaviour by making people hungrier to take on more work, to employ more people, to grow their businesses”.
Nigel Farage is speaking at his press conference now.
He starts with a whinge about the audience for the BBC Question Time from Makerfield not being neutral.
Referring to the campaign, he claims that his party is gaining momentum.
Campaigning is hard for a party like his, he claims, because their supporters are people from “alarm clock Britain” – which means they are out at work when you go round.
(In fact, Reform UK gets most of its support proportionately from people who are retired.)
The Nigel Farage press conference was meant to start at 3pm, but we’re still waiting. My colleague Josh Halliday is there. He says several dozen Reform UK members have gathered in the car park of a pub in Stubshaw Cross for the event. It’s a short walk from Andy Burnham’s campaign headquarters, he says. Josh is describing it as relatively low key.
Minister agrees to investigate claim that young people in Northern Ireland being ‘groomed’ into rioting
During the Commons urgent question on the Belfast rioting, Karen Bradley, a Conservative former Northern Ireland secretary, said that some young people taking part in the rioting had been “groomed” by gangmasters “into committing violence day in, day out across Northern Ireland”. She said this was a version of modern slavery, and called for an inquiry.
Dan Jarvis, the security minister responding to the UQ, replied: “I absolutely give her that commitment that, working with colleagues in the Northern Ireland Office, we will do that.”
SDLP leader Claire Hanna criticises those calling for ‘hardened border on island of Ireland’
Politicians calling for a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland are leaning into “people’s worst fears and anxieties,” Claire Hanna has said.
Hanna, the SDLP leader, made the comment in the Commons during an urgent question that she tabled on the violence in Belfast.
She said:
double quotation mark People are, of course, entitled to their views on immigration, and, of course, government policy is imperfect, but this hasn’t been a debate or a conversation.There haven’t been proposals, there haven’t been honesty about the trade-offs, there has been mob justice, and some of the same old, same old proposals for a hardened border on the island of Ireland. Political leaders have a duty to lead, not to lean into people’s worst fears and anxieties.
That video of the awful crime in north Belfast was unusual in its brutality, but the cycle of deflection and disorder has not been unusual. We have seen this movie too many times before.
In Belfast, we know all about blaming an entire community for the actions of others, we know all about scapegoating, we know all about tit-for-tat violence, and we know all about street justice.”
Earlier, during PMQs, Gavin Robinson, the DUP leader, suggested that the “open, porous border” between Ireland and Northern Ireland should be closed. (See 12.35pm.)
Photograph: Liam McBurney/PA
Sundus Abdi
Sundus Abdi is a Guardian reporter.
Northern Ireland’s children’s commissioner has said that recent scenes od disorder in Belfast are “robbing children of their right to live in safety”, saying the violence and intimidation are having a profound impact on young people.
Chris Quinn said: “No child should feel unsafe in their home or community, or fear because of who they are, where they come from, or how they are perceived.”
He urged parents and carers to speak to their children about “what is happening, to challenge racism, and to help children understand that violence and hatred are never acceptable.”
Quinn also voiced concern about those “orchestrating the violence”, saying “they are not operating with the best interests of Monday night’s victim in mind, nor of the young people they are seeking to involve in this violence.”
UN human rights chief says anti-migrant violence in Southampton and Belfast ‘shocking’, blaming social media ‘incitement’
The UN human rights chief has described the anti-immigrant violence rocking Belfast and recent clashes with police in Southampton as “shocking”, criticising “incitement” on social media and elsewhere, AFP reports.
Volker Türk, the UN high commissioner for human rights, told reporters in Geneva:
double quotation mark Dehumanisation of whole groups within a society is totally unacceptable and is frankly despicable.The violence that comes out as a result in … both Northern Ireland and in Southampton were really shocking …
[Social media providers must] take the responsibility seriously that dehumanisation, hate speech, violence and incitement to violence is unacceptable.
We cannot tolerate this in today’s world … The polarisation that we see is shocking.
Nigel Farage has announced that he will hold a press conference in Makerfield at 3pm, with the Reform UK candidate, Robert Kenyon. Perhaps Labour has shamed him into action. See 11.54am.
Here is a Guardian video of the main party leaders appealing for calm at PMQs today after last night’s riots in Belfast.
No 10 declines to say what Starmer meant by PMQs pledge to crack down on people like Musk fuelling division online
At the post-PMQs lobby briefing the PM’s spokesperson was asked what Keir Starmer meant at PMQS when he told Ed Davey that the government would crack down on “anyone who is fuelling this division” on social media. (See 12.30pm.) This was in response to a question about Elon Musk.
The spokesperson refused to give details about what a crackdown like this might involve, but he did say: “We’ve taken action before and we won’t hesitate to do that again.”
Here are more pictures from Belfast showing the damage caused by last night’s rioting.
A 39-year-old man has become the first to be charged over the Belfast riots, the Press Assocation reports. He was arrested in Newtownabbey last night and will appear before Belfast magistrates court today charged with riot.
Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images
Racist violence in Glasgow last night left five people, including two police officers, injured, Police Scotland says
Severin Carrell
Severin Carrell is the Guardian’s Scotland editor.
Police in Glasgow said that far-right protesters attacked people because of their skin colour on Tuesday night, leaving three members of public and two officers injured.
Police Scotland said they made three arrests of men aged 18, 18 and 31 in Glasgow, and policed disruptive but peaceful demonstrations in Edinburgh, Falkirk, Perth, Ayr and Paisley, where no arrests were made.
The violence was condemned earlier on Wednesday by first minister John Swinney, who said “racism, hatred and intimidation have no place in Scotland”, remarks echoed by Anas Sarwar, the Scottish Labour leader. (See 11.42pm.)
In a statement, Assistant Chief Constable Alan Waddell said:
double quotation mark We understand the concerns people have about their communities and will always balance the right to freedom of expression with the need to tackle crime without fear or favour.Officers responded to disorder and violence, including incidents in Glasgow where members of the public were attacked because of the colour of their skin. Officers were also attacked.
I would strongly condemn that offending and send a clear message that there is no place for racism and violence in Scotland.
He said the force could also deploy Scottish officers and vehicles to Belfast if there was a request from the Police Service of Northern Ireland, under the UK’s mutual aid polices.
double quotation mark We have an appropriate policing plan in place, including strong links across UK policing to ensure we are prepared to deal with any escalation in disorder, and we will mobilise specialist resources if necessary.As part of this, our officers will support National Police Coordination Centre mutual aid arrangements for colleagues at the Police Service of Northern Ireland, following careful consideration to our resourcing requirements to ensure there is no impact to policing in Scotland.
