2 hours ago
PSNI chief urges people not to let those 'who know nothing about Northern Ireland' stir up disorder via social media
In his opening statement at the press conference Boutcher also warned people against being influenced “from afar through social media” in the wake of a knife attack. He said:
There will be an increased police presence across Northern Ireland this evening and in the coming days to provide help, support, and reassurance for all our communities, and to keep everybody safe.
There is considerable posting on social media. I appeal for everyone to be mindful of what they view and share online. Sharing footage risks causing further trauma to the injured man’s family and loved ones, and may impact on this investigation.
He also said plans for protests were being carefully monitored.
We are aware, of course, of protest activity being discussed across Northern Ireland this evening, and we continue to monitor this very carefully.
And I understand that last night’s attempted murder will leave people feeling enraged with emotions from fear to anger, but please, please let the PSNI, let the police do their job unfettered and undistracted by wider concerns there may be about disorder.
Do not let people who know nothing about Northern Ireland impact on the behaviours of our people in Northern Ireland from afar through social media.
Remember the actions of those members of the public, they truly define our society in Northern Ireland, they saved a man’s life last night.
Do not let the actions of that man impact on any further harm to anybody else in Northern Ireland.
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Hannah Al-Othman
As dusk began to fall, the roads leading from west Belfast to the city centre were blocked fire bonfires, with plastic road blocks, street furniture, and wheelie bins set alight.
Groups of men in balaclavas wandered the streets, carrying plastic bottles filled with what appeared to be petrol, and formed crowds around the fires, as cars were forced to turn around.
Police cars looked on for a distance, with officers occasionally directing motorists who had been blocked from reaching their destinations.
Across the city centre, smoke hung thick and heavy in the air, and smoke could be seen rising into the sky from several directions.
A spokesperson for Translink, which operates public transport services in Northern Ireland, said all bus and train services have been suspended for the rest of the night.
The spokesperson said: “We utterly condemn this attack on our Glider service.
“The safety of our staff and customers is our top priority and all bus and train services are suspended for the rest of tonight in the interests of safety.
“We are liaising closely with the PSNI and will continue to follow their guidance.
“We intend to resume services as normal tomorrow morning. Passengers are advised to check Translink’s socials for up to date travel information.”
Hannah Al-Othman
Hannah Al-Othman has more on the disorder near the Shankhill road that culminated in a house being stormed by masked men:
On a residential street draped in loyalist flags near Belfast’s Shankhill road, the masked men approached a house with a boarded-up window and a security camera stationed outside.
As a woman from an ethnic minority background looked down from an upstairs window, some of the men rushed the front door and broke it down. With the air thick with smoke from fireworks, they attacked the downstairs windows with bricks.
As they stormed the property, some claimed to be “liberating” it. Graffiti nearby demanded “local homes for local people”. A woman in the crowd said to her friend: “There’s wee girls inside”.
Nearby, a car was set on fire. As the chaos unfolded, a man in a skull facemask told onlookers to put their phones away. Helicopters circled overhead, and two police officers looked on from their car nearby as smoke billowed towards the sky - but appeared to conclude that it was not safe to intervene.
By the time reinforcements arrived in four police vans, most of the hundreds-strong crowd had melted away, leaving only a few stragglers in their wake.
Robyn Vinter
A ramshackle group of about 60 protesters gathered in Parliament Square in London, that police were “traitors” and attempting to goad individual officers.
Some shouted anti-immigrant slogans and chanted about the murder of Henry Novak and about the attempted murder in Belfast, which a Sudanese man has been arrested for.
There was some pushing and shoving but the police maintained order and most of the group protested peacefully. By 9pm only a handful remained.
The PSNI’s assistant chief constable said there had been “sporadic pockets of disorder” and urged everyone to remain calm.
“Officers are on the ground, working alongside partner agencies, responding to incidents as they arise and helping to keep people safe,” Ryan Henderson said.
He asked “all voices of influence within local communities to encourage peaceful protest and discourage any involvement in violence or disorder”.
Northern Ireland’s education minister, Paul Givan, has said any violence at anti-immigration demonstrations will “distract” from protesters’ message as he attended a protest in Lisburn.
Givan said: “There is a genuine shock about what happened last night. I think it has sent shockwaves across the community.
“What we have witnessed here in Lisburn has been a peaceful protest because people have felt that their voices aren’t being listened to, particularly when it comes to uncontrolled immigration within the United Kingdom and on the island of Ireland.
“It is important that people do conduct themselves in a peaceful manner to make sure that the key issues here around immigration can be heard and we are not distracted by any form of violence.
“That will only distract. People should express their views in a peaceful manner.”
