PM ‘utterly condemns' second night of violence after 17 officers injured in NI
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said he 'utterly condemns' violence which left 17 police officers injured following a second night of disturbances in Ballymena.
PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher has warned that the rioting 'risks undermining' the criminal justice process into an allegation of a sex attack on a teenage girl in the Co Antrim town at the weekend.
Stormont ministers have also made an urgent appeal for calm and said the justice process had to be allowed to take its course.
Speaking during Prime Minister's Questions in the Commons, Sir Keir condemned the 'mindless attacks' against police.
'I utterly condemn the violence that we have seen overnight in Ballymena and in other parts of Northern Ireland, including against PSNI officers,' Sir Keir told MPs.
'It's absolutely vital that the PSNI are given the time they need to investigate the incidents concerned rather than face mindless attacks as they seek to bring peace and order to keep people safe.'
In a joint statement, ministers from across the Stormont powersharing Executive, which includes Sinn Fein, DUP, Alliance Party and UUP, said those involved in disorder have nothing to offer society but 'division and disorder'.
Police said their officers came under sustained attack over a number of hours with multiple petrol bombs, heavy masonry, bricks and fireworks in their direction in the Clonavon Terrace area of Ballymena on Tuesday night.
The PSNI deployed riot police, fired plastic baton rounds, and used water cannon as well as dog units as part of its response to the disorder.
Police also reported that 'sporadic disorder' had also occurred in Newtownabbey and Carrickfergus, as well as incidents in north Belfast.
It came after similar violent disorder around Clonavon Terrace in the town on Monday night, following an earlier peaceful protest which was organised in support of the family of a girl who was the victim of an alleged sexual assault in the area. Two teenage boys, who spoke to a court through a Romanian interpreter, have been charged.
A PSNI spokesperson said earlier on Tuesday evening that a number of protests took place in areas of Belfast, Lisburn, Coleraine and Newtownabbey.
In Carrickfergus, two bins were set alight and bottles and masonry thrown at police in the Sunnylands area by a group of 20 to 30 young people at around 8.30pm.
In Newtownabbey bins were set alight at the roundabout on O'Neill Road.
During the course of the disorder in Ballymena, officers discharged a number of plastic baton rounds and the water cannon was also deployed in an attempt to disperse the crowds.
The spokesperson said: 'Businesses and homes were attacked and damaged and a number of vehicles were also set on fire in the area.
'Seventeen officers were injured with some requiring required hospital treatment.
'Five people were arrested on suspicion of riotous behaviour and remain in police custody this morning.
'A male was also arrested on suspicion of disorderly behaviour on the O'Neill Road in Newtownabbey.
'A number of nearby roads were closed by police to ensure the safety of the public and local residents, and to enable officers to deal with the situation and disorder safely. All roads were subsequently reopened.'
Fifteen officers had been injured during similar scenes in Ballymena on Monday.
Mr Boutcher said: 'The mindless violence witnessed over the past two nights in Ballymena is deeply concerning and utterly unacceptable.
'These criminal acts not only endanger lives but also risk undermining the ongoing criminal justice process led by the PSNI in support of a victim who deserves truth, justice, and protection.
'Ironically, and frustratingly, this violence threatens to derail the very pursuit of justice it claims to challenge.
'Let me be clear: this behaviour must stop. I appeal to everyone involved to cease all further acts of criminality and disorder immediately.'
The Chief Constable said the investigation into the violence would include reviewing video footage and images of individuals would be released to identify offenders.
He added: 'Since 2010, the PSNI has been critically underfunded. This neglect takes no account of the enormous demands placed on us by legacy issues or the unique challenges of policing in a post-conflict society.
'Our resourcing levels are not just inadequate — they are dangerous.
'I will be making arrangements to activate mutual aid resources to ensure we have the necessary support to maintain public order and bring offenders to justice.'
Northern Ireland's First Minister Michelle O'Neill and deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly both condemned the violent scenes in social media posts.
Ms O'Neill said: 'The racist and sectarian attacks on families across the north, and the rioting in Ballymena are abhorrent and must stop immediately.
'Those responsible for this violence bring nothing to our communities but hatred, fear and division.
'No one, now or ever should feel the need to place a sticker on their door to identify their ethnicity just to avoid being targeted.'
Ms Little-Pengelly said: 'Violence is always wrong. I have been in constant contact throughout last night with PSNI and in contact with local elected representatives.
'This disorder and violence must stop and justice be allowed to prevail.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Planning bill will ‘push public towards Reform': Labour's Chris Hinchliff on standing up for nature
Keir Starmer's planning bill will 'push the public towards Reform', a Labour MP has said as he urges his colleagues to back amendments to the legislation. Chris Hinchliff, MP for North East Hertfordshire, has submitted a package of amendments to the bill, which as it stands, lets developers 'pay cash to trash nature', he said. These will be debated in parliament during the report stage in early June. One of his amendments, to protect chalk streams, was rejected by the government this week. A growing number of backbenchers are becoming concerned and angry about the bill, with Clive Lewis and Terry Jermy among those supporting amendments to strengthen protections for nature. Labour's plan to build 1.5m homes by 2029 will, it believes, be expedited by passing the planning and infrastructure bill, which is at its committee stage in parliament. The government argues that the proposed legislation will speed up housing developments and large infrastructure projects by allowing developers to avoid meeting environmental obligations to protect habitats and species such as barn owls, otters, bats and newts, at the site of their project. Instead they will pay into a central nature restoration fund (NRF) that will be used to create environmental improvement elsewhere. But there is growing concern about the impacts of these plans, with government officials admitting this nature improvement could be carried out in a different county to where a building project is taking place. Pretty much every nature and environment group in England has objected to the bill as it stands. The National Trust, RSPB, and the Wildlife Trusts have said the proposed legislation puts rare habitats at risk and does not give any kind of baseline on which to measure environmental improvement. Related: Labour's planning bill threatens protected habitats, says environment watchdog Hinchliff told the Guardian that these changes meant Labour would be 'fighting communities, kicking and screaming', adding: 'All that will do is push, push the public towards Reform and that politicians aren't interested in what they think and what matters for their local community.' His amendments include changing environmental delivery plans, so environmental improvement is guaranteed before development begins rather than after it finishes; having targets for socially rented home delivery; and giving people the right to appeal decisions on developments they think are harmful to the local area. Hinchliff's proposals have made him unpopular among some commentators. He has been accused of being part of 'hedgehog Hezbollah' and is constantly called a 'nimby' for suggesting amendments to the bill. But he rebuffed such labels, saying: 'No, I don't think I'm a nimby. There are housing developments in my town just around the corner from me that I think are quite sensible. We've got a town in my constituency that is due to double in size, and I'm not opposing that.' Related: 'Irreplaceable habitat': planning bill raises fears for England's chalk streams Taking on the government like this might make him unpopular, but Hincliff shrugged. 'If it makes me less popular with the government, it makes me less popular with the government,' he said. The bill allows for developers to potentially damage irreplaceable habitats such as chalk streams and pay for them to be offset with nature elsewhere. But nature experts argue that chalk streams cannot be replaced as they are unique and rare ecosystems that only arise under certain conditions. 'There's a lot of chalk streams in my constituency. They're one of the things that residents really care about and love about the constituency that we live in,' Hinchliff said. 'One the reasons why I tabled that amendment is because some habitats are irreplaceable, and it's important that we protect those from damage, because you can't just give developers the right pay cash to trash nature like that.' That amendment was rejected on Wednesday by the Labour MPs on the parliamentary committee examining the draft law. On the same day, the government admitted in its risk assessment of the bill that there was very little evidence that nature protections blocked developments. Removing these protections on this basis was 'dangerous', Hinchliff said. 'Many habitats are on the brink. Species are on the brink. And if we allow harm and pollution to go ahead on the proviso that in the future, will have a pot of money and will make things better those ecosystems will be functionally dead in many instances, if we're not careful.' He added: 'When I read our manifesto, I took away from that very clear message that we were going to deliver the housing that the country needed in tandem with protecting the environment.' Hinchliff has been alarmed by criticism of the bill by the Office for Environmental Protection and Sir Partha Dasgupta, professor emeritus of economics at the University of Cambridge. Hinchliff said some Labour colleagues had come on board with his campaign, and there could be a sizeable group of rebels: 'It's a hugely political issue that matters to an awful lot of people, and I think my colleagues will feel the heat on this. I've been really pleased with the level of support I've received. I've had a good number of colleagues get back to say that they're willing to support my amendments,' he said. Despite potentially being out of step with the party leadership at present, which has said it backs the 'builders' rather than the 'blockers' and prioritises homes over bats and newts, Hinchliff said he was standing up for traditional Labour values. 'What I'm standing up for is a long and proud tradition of Labour values and that people from across the Labour movement have fought for for generations,' he said. 'Let's not forget, it was the Labour government which created the greenbelt, Labour politicians who created our national parks. These are all Labour traditions, and I'm hoping that I can persuade my party to look closely and seriously at the proposals I've put forward.'
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Spending review: Reeves vows to ‘renew Britain' with big rises for NHS, housing and defence
Rachel Reeves has pledged to 'renew Britain' with a spending review prioritising health, defence and more than £100bn for long-term capital projects, despite leaving some key areas facing a tough squeeze on funding. In a speech to the Commons setting out Labour's priorities up to the next general election, the chancellor said her investment programme would be felt in all corners of the country, while decrying austerity as a 'destructive choice'. Announcing the government's spending review, the chancellor made a high-stakes promise to cut spending on controversial issues such as asylum hotels by the end of the parliament, which she said would save £1bn. But the Home Office will receive a budget cut which will extend beyond the asylum savings, causing alarm from police officers and the London mayor Sadiq Khan. Others that will see spending cuts include Defra and local government, as well as the Foreign Office which will see an almost 7% cut because of the loss of much of the foreign aid budget. 'We are renewing Britain,' Reeves said. 'I know that too many people in too many parts of our country are yet to feel it. This government's task, my task as chancellor, and the purpose of this spending review is to change that, to ensure that renewal is felt in people's everyday lives, in their jobs and on their high streets. 'The priorities of this spending review are the priorities of working people, to invest in Britain's security, in Britain's health, and to grow Britain's economy so that working people are better off.' Reeves said total departmental budgets would grow by 2.3% a year in real terms, drawing a comparison with the 2.9% cut under the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition – a retort to her critics who have accused her of a return to austerity. 'Austerity was a destructive choice for the fabric of our society, and it was a destructive choice for our economy too, choking off investment and demand,' Reeves said. 'Creating a lost decade for growth, wages and living standards that is their legacy. My choices are different. My choices are Labour choices.' She said there would be 'tough decisions for stability', a nod to the unpopularity of the now partly reversed winter fuel allowance and welfare cuts, as well as tax rises including the increase in the national insurance rate paid by employers. However, experts warned the chancellor could face a summer of speculation over possible further tax increases at the autumn budget, after Reeves reiterated a promise to stick to her 'ironclad' fiscal rules – despite concerns over rising government borrowing costs and a sluggish growth outlook. 'It looks increasingly likely that substantial tax increases will be needed in the autumn budget,' said Andrew Goodwin, chief UK economist at the consultancy Oxford Economics. 'Considering the plans require large efficiency savings, departments may find it hard to stick to the targets… today's spending review leaves the impression of being a stopgap, rather than a durable plan.' In a highly political speech, Reeves attacked the Tories and Reform for opposing her changes to the fiscal rules and tax rises announced at last year's October budget, saying the investment would never have been possible under them. 'Every one of those changes was opposed by the parties opposite. So today, they can make an honest choice, and they can oppose these spending plans as they oppose every penny I raise to fund them, or they can make the same choice as Liz Truss, spend more, borrow more, with no regard for the consequences.' The Conservative shadow chancellor said the spending rise was 'not worth the paper that it is written on' and would mean months of speculation over how it would be paid for. 'This is the spend now, tax later review, because [she] knows she will need to come back here in the autumn with yet more taxes, and a cruel summer of speculation awaits.' The health service was the biggest winner in terms of day-to-day spending, increasing in real terms by 3% a year – though lower than some years under the Conservatives. It will mean the health service gets £29bn extra a year. Defence is among those with the biggest spending boost – as expected – with spending rising to 2.6% of GDP by April 2027, though that includes the intelligence agencies. It will mean £11bn for defence and £600m extra for security services. Another key winner was Angela Rayner's housing department, where Reeves said 'social housing [had been] neglected for too many decades, but not by this Labour government'. Overnight, she had announced £39bn over the next decade. Blackpool, Preston, Sheffield and Swindon are among the towns that have already put forward bids for the cash. The department most unhappy with its settlement is the Home Office, especially the policing budget, which chiefs have warned will mean the government will miss its manifesto commitments on recruitment and tackling crime. Reeves said the department would get an average 2.3% increase a year in real terms over the spending review period, an increase of £2bn, but the funding is far below what police services believe will be adequate. The chancellor also vowed there would be significant savings on asylum, with an ambitious pledge to end spending on hotels for asylum seekers by the end of the parliament, without saying how. Reeves said there would be new funding for the department to hear cases and appeals more quickly and deport those whose claims were rejected, saying the end of the use of hotels would save taxpayers £1bn. Education will get a cash uplift of £4.5bn in the core schools budget, as well as £2.3bn in investment to fix school classrooms, especially those with crumbling concrete. From the capital budget, there will be £2.4bn a year to continue the rebuilding of 500 schools. Several departments have secured better-than-expected investments, including those of the environment secretary, Steve Reed, and the energy secretary, Ed Miliband. Defra will get a major funding boost for flood defences, investing £4.2bn over three years, though overall spending will be cut by 2.7%, The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has the biggest increase in capital spending at five times the average departmental growth rate. The spending review will fund manifesto commitments for £13.2bn on home insulation and the full £8.3bn for Great British Energy, which many reports had speculated would be cut. Other major funding programmes include an already announced £14.2bn for a new nuclear power station, Sizewell C, and £2.5bn investment to develop small modular reactors. There is an additional £9.4bn for carbon capture, including Acorn in Scotland. Major transport projects were also given additional funding, including the east-west rail link between Oxford and Cambridge, which will receive an extra £2.5bn and a further £3.5bn investment in the Transpennine route upgrade as well as the Midlands Rail Hub, the region's biggest rail improvement scheme. There will be £445m for railways in Wales over 10 years. Reeves said she understood that the decline of high streets was a key driver of dissatisfaction in Britain, saying there too many regeneration projects had been 'held back, gathering dust in bureaucratic limbo'. There would be a new growth mission fund to expedite local projects, she announced. The additional funding will support up to 350 communities to improve parks, youth facilities, swimming pools and libraries and to tackle graffiti and fly tipping. Reeves also used the spending review to announce government investment in R&D and entrepreneurs, confirming R&D spending would reach £22bn a year by the end of the spending review. She will increase the investment power of the British Business Bank to £25.6bn, which she said would be directed towards helping British business scale up.
Bloomberg
2 hours ago
- Bloomberg
Julian Harris: Labour Reverts to Type
A few months ago during a news meeting here at Bloomberg, I wondered out loud whether Keir Starmer saw himself as the head of a centrist government that just happened to have a Labour party attached to it. Was the prime minister effectively daring Labour backbenchers and activists to challenge him, knowing they wouldn't do so for fear of ushering Nigel Farage into power? Would the parliamentary term play out as a five-year game of chicken?
