Debate contribution: Shankill Gospel Hall: Racially Motivated Attack

Debate contribution by Mr Brian Kingston on 8 June 2026.

MLA

Mr Brian Kingston

Party at the time

Democratic Unionist Party

Date

8 June 2026

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Matter of the Day

Heading

Shankill Gospel Hall: Racially Motivated Attack

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5600242

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I join others in condemning the appalling arson attack on the former Shankill Gospel Hall in the early hours of Saturday morning. After closing five years ago, the hall was bought recently by a couple who are originally from India, with the intention of turning it into a grocery store specialising in Indian foods. As the Assembly Speaker said this morning on the radio, he and I met the owner some weeks ago at the invitation of Dr Singhal, the chair of the Indian Community Centre, to hear of his plans for the building. Regrettably, some people, mostly from outside the area, made it their business to stir up opposition to the proposal, with social media posts containing false information and suggesting that such a store should not be allowed on the Shankill Road. On Saturday morning, I was passing the premises when out for an early morning run when I noticed a police car outside after the fire had been extinguished. I had to ring the owner to tell him the devastating news of the fire that had occurred on his premises, and I met him on-site later that day. He is, understandably, in deep shock at what has occurred and does not know how to proceed. I have been liaising with various statutory agencies and community representatives on his behalf, and I will continue to do so. The majority of people in the Shankill are appalled by the attack. To be clear, there are many stores along the Shankill Road that are owned by people from outside the area, including from overseas. That is quite normal, and they are supported locally and by the many people who visit the area to avail themselves of the shops. Indeed, that would not have been the only international food shop on the Shankill Road. Those behind those inflammatory social media posts bear considerable responsibility for what occurred. I spoke to one on Saturday morning, who made a video of himself talking about the arson attack. I agreed with him that it is disappointing to see a church closing in the area and being repurposed, which has happened to many churches. I asked him whether he attended church himself, and he said no. Sadly, that is part of the reason why churches are closing and being repurposed. Whatever concerns people have, they should raise them with community and elected representatives. I will always listen to their concerns. There are many people working on the regeneration of the Shankill Road to bring derelict buildings back into use and to maintain shops along the road. To have a former church building and future shop burned totally undermines that work and is setting back progress. It is a depressing crime, and I urge anyone who has information about the arson attack to bring it to the police.

472 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 15:48 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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