1 hour ago
Hilary Benn urges calm in statement to MPs about 'horrific' attack in Belfast, and asks people not to repost video footage
Hilary Benn, the Northern Ireland secretary, is responding to the UQ. (See 12.43pm.)
He says:
Shortly after 10.30pm last night a man in his 40s was subjected to an horrific, sustained knife attack in a street in north Belfast.
He is in hospital in a serious condition, having suffered very severe injuries.
I know the thoughts of the whole house would be with him and his loved ones at what must be a time of unimaginable distress.
The response from the Police Service of Northern Ireland was immediate.
A man in his 30s was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. He remains in police custody and the PSNI are continuing to investigate. They have declared it a critical incident.
Benn goes on to praise the way some people responded to the attack.
But amidst the horror of what happened we also saw something extraordinary when confronted with scenes of terrifying violence.
Members of the public did not walk on by.
Instead, a number of them stepped forward and at immense risk to their own safety.
They intervened to pull the assailant away and protect the victim until the police arrived.
To those individuals I would like to say this. You showed the very best of humanity, and you have the profound gratitude of this entire house.
Benn ends with advice from the police.
This was a horrific and brutal attack. And the PSNI are seeking to provide support and reassurance to the local community.
The chief constable, to whom I have spoken twice this morning, and his officers have our full, unwavering support as they pursue their enquiries.
I would also like to repeat their appeal not to share or repost footage of the attack out of respect for the victim’s family.
I echo the words of the prime minister this morning that there is no place for such violence on our streets. All of us have a responsibility now to urge calm and let the police do their job.
Key events
Richard Tice (Reform UK) asked Benn if he would return to the Commons later today to give a further statement about the suspect.
Benn said he would report to MPs “in an appropriate form as soon as I am able to do so”.
Shockat Adam (Ind) asked Benn if he agreed “crime and heroes come in all different hues and colours”. Benn said all MPs should appeal for calm.
Benn says Belfast attack should not lead to members from accused's community being attacked
Ayoub Khan (Ind) asked Benn if he agreed “we must not let the heinous actions of one person be taken as an opportunity to taint an entire community”.
Benn said he agreed. He went on:
When I think back to those who were attacked in the wake of the terrible events in Southport and then in Ballymena, we know that in Northern Ireland certain individuals were attacked who had nothing to do with any of this simply because of the colour of their skin. And that is not what this country is about.
Identify an attacker, due process in due course after investigation.
Do not cast aspersions on a whole community. Many people from all backgrounds bring so much to our national life.
Carla Lockhart (DUP) said people in Northern Ireland were very concerned about uncontrolled immigration. She asked how many people there were in Northern Ireland of the same nationality as the accused.
Benn said the facts would be provided in due course once they were checked.
Lee Anderson (Reform UK) asked if the accused entered the UK as an asylum seeker?
Benn said, until he had had that confirmed, he could not say. But the PSNI was leading on this, he said.
Benn says initial report about nationality of accused now seems to be wrong
Julian Lewis (Con) said he was “baffled” why Benn was not willing to tell MPs whether the accused entered with UK illegally, or on a visa. He went on:
This information will come out sooner or later. And what we have learnt from similar terrible incidents like this is the longer it is withheld, the worse the rumour mill goes into action.
Benn said it was important for the police to be certain of the facts before they released them. He went on:
The police originally said they believed him to be of one nationality, it may well turn out that he is in fact of another nationality, which does demonstrate the point I’m trying to put to the house that it is important that the police lead on that, so that the full facts can come out.
Benn challenges TUV MP Jim Allister over his claim 'alien culture' factor in attack
Jim Allister (TUV) said:
What I want to know and what I know, my constituents want to hear, is what will be done to stop the importation of an alien culture that thinks is appropriate to try and behead someone?
He said he wanted to know if the accused was in the UK with a visa, or illegally.
MPs should not have to wait for a statement from the chief constable, he said.
He said truth and transparency would be “the greatest antidote to rising tensions”.
In response, Benn said he did not accept Allister’s use of the term “alien culture”. He said the British people had had enough of violence whatever the background of the people committing it.
And he said it was for the police to be in charge of the release of information because tit was a live investigation.
Jim Shannon (DUP) asked for an assurance that the right to protest would be upheld.
Benn said he supported the right to protest. But he said at the moment “the last thing people should be doing is stretching their resources across Northern Ireland to deal with protests that aren’t going to help anyone”.
Speaking for the Conservative party, Matt Vickers, a shadow minister, said it was vital that the facts were established. He said it has been reported that the attacker was a foreign national. He asked Benn to confirm his immigration status.
He went on:
It is urgent the facts are put on the public record to avoid speculation and prevent an information vacuum, which the independent reviewer of terror legislation has warned about.
If there has been failings on our borders, this is yet another reminder that we do need stronger borders. And this is why we believe it is time to leave the ECHR [European convention on human rights].
Benn said the Police Service of Northern Ireland would be holding a press conference (around now).
He said information would be released, but in line with the proper procedure.
Benn declines to comment on identity or immigration status of suspect in Belfast attack
In his response to Robinson (see 1.01pm), Benn did not comment on the identity or immigration status of the accused – but he defended the government’s immigration record.
He said:
Any foreign national who abuses the hospitality of this country to commit crimes should be in no doubt of our determination to deport them. We need to allow the criminal justice process to take place.
On [Robinson’s] question about net migration, as he will know, it is now down 82% from the peak reached under the previous government.
DUP leader Gavin Robinson says accused was in Belfast on visa and must be 'convicted and deported'
Gavin Robinson, the DUP leader who tabled the UQ, said the attack last night was “chilling”. He said it involved “the systematic mutilation and attempted slaughter of a citizen of Belfast on our streets”.
Robinson praised the person who intervened to help the victim armed just with a hurling stick.
He went on:
What occurred last night will have profound implications for community cohesion in this country. This needs to be a time for honesty and openness and truth.
Will [Benn] confirm that he and his government recognise that uncontrolled immigration needs to end here?
Will he confirm that the government needs to reassure and protect our population, who for too long have had their concerns ignored.
Robinson also said he backed the chief constable’s appeal for calm. He went on:
Will [Benn] confirm that the actions last night in no way reflect or represent the values of our nation, that the victim belongs in Belfast, but the attacker does not?
Having abused the privilege of our nation, the perpetrator living in the UK under a five-year visa needs to be convicted and deported – on the first flight out on a one way ticket.
Hilary Benn urges calm in statement to MPs about 'horrific' attack in Belfast, and asks people not to repost video footage
Hilary Benn, the Northern Ireland secretary, is responding to the UQ. (See 12.43pm.)
He says:
Shortly after 10.30pm last night a man in his 40s was subjected to an horrific, sustained knife attack in a street in north Belfast.
He is in hospital in a serious condition, having suffered very severe injuries.
I know the thoughts of the whole house would be with him and his loved ones at what must be a time of unimaginable distress.
The response from the Police Service of Northern Ireland was immediate.
A man in his 30s was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. He remains in police custody and the PSNI are continuing to investigate. They have declared it a critical incident.
Benn goes on to praise the way some people responded to the attack.
But amidst the horror of what happened we also saw something extraordinary when confronted with scenes of terrifying violence.
Members of the public did not walk on by.
Instead, a number of them stepped forward and at immense risk to their own safety.
They intervened to pull the assailant away and protect the victim until the police arrived.
To those individuals I would like to say this. You showed the very best of humanity, and you have the profound gratitude of this entire house.
Benn ends with advice from the police.
This was a horrific and brutal attack. And the PSNI are seeking to provide support and reassurance to the local community.
The chief constable, to whom I have spoken twice this morning, and his officers have our full, unwavering support as they pursue their enquiries.
I would also like to repeat their appeal not to share or repost footage of the attack out of respect for the victim’s family.
I echo the words of the prime minister this morning that there is no place for such violence on our streets. All of us have a responsibility now to urge calm and let the police do their job.
A Northern Ireland minister is due to respond to an urgent question in the Commons shortly about the stabbing in Northern Ireland.
Here is our story on it, by Rory Carroll and Vikram Dodd.
Gavin Robinson, the DUP leader, has tabled the question.
Badenoch says her thinking about identity politics partly influenced by having mixed-race children
Q: You said in an interview recently that identity politics could lead to civil war. What did you mean by that?
Badenoch said she was not saying the UK is on the cusp of civil war now. Instead she was warning about what might happen in the future, she said.
When you look at countries that have had civil wars, it is always, almost always, around identity.
She said her views on these issues were influenced by her children.
I think about my children when I think about these policies.
They are half black and half white, and I want them to feel that they can be both, that they don’t need to choose, that no one is going to be judging them, because they look like their mother or their father, but they will be judging them as individuals.
And that is the principle that I think all of us, whatever our political views, must share.
Q: Do you think people who run staff networks in the civil service, like groups for minority ethnic staff (see 12pm), should be allowed time off for those activities, or access to facilities?
Badenoch said her experience of staff networks in the civil service was that they were run by people “furthering their own personal careers at the expense of other civil servants”.
They should not be supported with taxpayers’ money, she said.
