Debate contribution: Opposition to Racism

Debate contribution by Mr Brian Kingston on 8 August 2024.

MLA

Mr Brian Kingston

Party at the time

Democratic Unionist Party

Date

8 August 2024

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

Opposition to Racism

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4500357

Read the official Assembly record

Text

The Democratic Unionist Party unequivocally condemns the violence and wanton destruction that has been witnessed on the streets of Belfast and elsewhere in recent days. Our message to those who are responsible for organising, taking part in or inciting that disorder is simple: stop, and stop now. Our thoughts and prayers are with all those who have been impacted on personally by that unacceptable wave of criminality: every business person whose premises have been destroyed or damaged, with their livelihood uprooted; every innocent person who has been assaulted or injured or feels fearful; and every police officer who has put themselves in harm's way to hold the line against rioters. No one should have to live in fear because of where they were born, the colour of their skin or their religious beliefs. The targeting of homes, businesses and places of worship, including our mosques, is and always has been absolutely wrong. Let us be clear from the outset: anyone who perpetuates such attacks while citing love of Crown and country is deeply misguided. Civil and religious liberty is and always has been a cornerstone of our United Kingdom. Every July, as unionists, we celebrate and commemorate the defence of that principle in times past. It is something that our ancestors fought and died for, yet those who resort to racist and sectarian acts of violence serve only to besmirch their memory. Northern Ireland has a proud history of welcoming those who seek better lives for themselves and their families and who have enriched our communities socially and economically. That will not change. It is abhorrent that some of our most dedicated health professionals have felt compelled to consider leaving Northern Ireland as a result of recent events. It is no exaggeration to say that, without their contribution, our health service and other essential provisions would collapse. Yesterday, at the end of a day of meetings and interviews, I met three care assistants from the Philippines who live in the Woodvale and Ballygomartin area and work in a north Belfast care home. They have been here for some years, and they get on well with their neighbours, but they are now concerned for their safety after recent events. I assured them that I believe that there is no threat to their safety, and I left them my mobile number. It is appalling that they, along with many others who contribute to our society, suddenly feel unsafe in a way that they did not before. I also listen to the concerns that residents raise every day, including on recent evenings, when I have been on the streets. They have concerns about difficulty in accessing housing, particularly social housing; concerns about the level of private-sector rents; and concerns about antisocial behaviour and so on. People will have different views on the extent to which migration to Northern Ireland, regular and irregular, has led to the pressures that we face. There are other factors at play, of course, not least the chronic underfunding of our public services. However, if we want to get to the root of the problem, all need to recognise that individuals have the right to lawfully express those concerns, including through engaging in peaceful protest. However, it is clear to me that some people are pushing those issues to direct anger specifically at foreign nationals who are living in our community. That is disgraceful. It is depressing to see that anger and hate, which are causing fear for many people, particularly foreign nationals who live and work in our community, including in our care homes, health service, local businesses and services. I appeal to people not to be exploited by those with a racist agenda. Unfortunately, you see a lot of incitement on social media. People should be wise to that.

I thank the Member for her contribution. She is absolutely right: we must stand against violence and intimidation, and we must address the issues in local communities that people wish to raise — we will do that on an ongoing basis — but those issues should never be used as justification for violence or attacks. We also recognise that the majority of those who participated in protests last weekend did so without malicious intent and took part in no criminality. Many of those protests did not make the news. We are disappointed that some parties have labelled all participants as racists or fascists. However, we also fully accept that with fundamental freedoms comes responsibility. I implore anyone who is thinking of joining a public demonstration in the coming days to think carefully about whether their attendance could give succour to the criminal elements who wish to undermine the rule of law. That includes those who wish to abuse protests, create mayhem and exploit young people from the shadows. In the same way that wrecking your own community is entirely counterproductive to securing investment in it, political leaders who ignore genuinely held concerns of protesters take us further away from a solution, not closer to it. The DUP wants to see meaningful dialogue with communities throughout Belfast and, indeed, our Province, and that is what we are engaged in day and daily. Violence is never justified, nor should it be an excuse for public bodies or politicians to run away from the problems and do nothing. We commend the professionalism of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, whose officers stood in the gap to confront the thugs who were intent on wreaking havoc and to protect businesses and premises that were under threat of attack. This remains a very fast-moving situation, and it is to the credit of every officer that the service was able to respond effectively and that officers were visible on the streets of our capital city. The police investigation of the disorder and arrests should be evidence-led, wherever that leads. As police forces in England and Wales receive offers of additional specialist support, the PSNI is working minor miracles to uphold the law with dwindling resources and record low numbers of police officers. We cannot reverse overnight the neglect of policing budgets under the watch of successive Justice Ministers. However, it is vital that the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, working closely with Executive Ministers, urgently examine what additional support can be provided to the Chief Constable and his officers in the coming days. We cannot ignore the fact that events on the streets of Belfast were part of a spate of violence seen nationally across the UK. There has also been societal unrest in Dublin and other parts of the Republic of Ireland. If we are to stop this happening again, it will require a collective response from the UK Government and the devolved Administrations to forge policies that sustainably address concerns, including around the control of our borders. There also needs to be a serious conversation about how we can do more to crack down on the anonymous social media accounts of malicious individuals who are instrumental in sowing the seeds of violence of this kind, often through misinformation. The authorities should not be left to pick up the pieces because of a failure to crack down on social media platforms that are not doing enough to tackle hate online.

As Members will have seen, our amendment takes nothing away from the wording of the motion but adds that the right to peaceful protest, including for those who protested outside Parliament Buildings this morning, is a fundamental pillar of any democracy and must be protected and that those who resort to violence and orchestrate public disorder on our streets should face the full rigour of the law. Our amendment:

"urges the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, working closely with the Executive, to provide additional resources to the Chief Constable in order to maintain an agile and effective police response".

We urge the House to accept the amendment.

1,316 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not qualifying

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 10:57 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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