Debate contribution: Assembly Business
Debate contribution by Mr Phillip Brett on .
- MLA
- Mr Phillip Brett
- Party at the time
- Democratic Unionist Party
- Date
- 26 November 2024
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Assembly Business
- Heading
- Assembly Business
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4677303
Read the official Assembly record
Text
On a point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker. I take this opportunity to pay tribute to our security team and members of the PSNI, who have just been forced to remove anti-Israeli protesters from the Great Hall. People in this place are entitled to express their views in a democracy. They are not entitled to access parts of this Building, interrupting staff who are trying to work. I am proud to represent North Belfast, the home of the synagogue and the Jewish community in Northern Ireland. This place will not be used or abused by those who wish to express their anti-Israel views.
103 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Not flagged on a second assessment, because Jev’s answers did not settle it. The reasons are given below.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.52 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- Criteria met: Identity framing (0.69).
- The text criticises or condemns the framing or division (0.44).
- Subject area: Religion and belief (including people of no religion), churches, faith communities and religious prejudice (including antisemitism and anti-Muslim prejudice).
- The answers did not meet either automatic threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Second assessment
Jev’s answers did not settle this record, so a second model, claude-opus-5-5, read the same text (without the MLA’s name or party) and gave its reasons on 21 October 2026. How the second assessment works
- Verdict
- Not flagged
- Public interest or divisiveness
- Mixed
Against the published rubric
The contribution thanks security staff and police for removing protesters from the Great Hall and objects to them "interrupting staff who are trying to work", which is a matter of conduct and access to the building. It accepts that people "are entitled to express their views in a democracy". It does not portray a community or faith group as a whole in hostile terms, and the criticism is aimed at specific people for specific conduct. The reference to North Belfast as "the home of the synagogue and the Jewish community" links the protest to local Jewish people, and the closing line about "anti-Israel views" goes beyond procedure. Even so, this falls short of the rubric's test for mapping a foreign conflict onto communities in a hostile way.
Public interest or divisiveness
The main thrust is orderly use of Parliament Buildings and support for staff, which is a legitimate institutional concern. Two elements bring in the Gaza conflict and local identity. One is the speaker presenting themselves as representing the Jewish community. The other is the closing declaration that the building "will not be used or abused by those who wish to express their anti-Israel views", which frames the problem partly around the protesters' views rather than only their conduct. Both elements are substantial enough to make the contribution mixed, but neither amounts to identity-based hostility towards a group.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.69 | Yes |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.26 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.26 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.34 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.48 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.10 | No |
| Overall judgement | 0.52 | Between thresholds |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing | 0.14 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it (chosen) | 0.44 |
| Adopts it | 0.42 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Religion and belief (including people of no religion), churches, faith communities and religious prejudice (including antisemitism and anti-Muslim prejudice) | 0.99 |
| Another identity-related subject | 0.01 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.00 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 11:35 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
Disagree with this assessment?
Classifications can be challenged. A person reads every challenge, and any change is recorded publicly above with its reason.