Stormont Executive to meet after another night of violence in Northern Ireland

Stormont Executive to meet after another night of violence in Northern Ireland

The Northern Ireland Executive is to meet on Thursday morning to be briefed on the ongoing unrest seen over the last week.

Leaders will meet for the briefing at 10am, an hour before the Stormont Assembly is to be recalled to discuss the recent scenes of violence in mainly loyalist areas.

News of the meeting was confirmed late on Wednesday night as trouble continued to rage on the streets of Belfast, with Executive members scheduled to debate a motion condemning the recent attacks on police.

“Those involved in violence, criminal damage, manipulation of our young people and attacks on the police must stop.”

Violent scenes including attacks on police, petrol bombings and rioting have taken place repeatedly on the streets of Belfast and Derry throughout the past week.

Northern Ireland unrest
A car bursts through the Peace Gates in Lanark Way on Wednesday night (Liam McBurney/PA)

The scenes of violence flooded social media and prompted UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson to appeal for calm.

He tweeted: “I am deeply concerned by the scenes of violence in Northern Ireland, especially attacks on PSNI who are protecting the public and businesses, attacks on a bus driver and the assault of a journalist.

“The way to resolve differences is through dialogue, not violence or criminality.”

The unrest has been attributed to tension in loyalist communities over the Northern Ireland Protocol on Brexit and the PSNI’s handling of alleged coronavirus regulation breaches by Sinn Fein at the funeral of republican Bobby Storey.

Northern Ireland unrest
People stand next to a fire in a street in Belfast on Wednesday night (Liam McBurney/PA)

“This is not protest. This is vandalism and attempted murder. These actions do not represent unionism or loyalism.

“They are an embarrassment to Northern Ireland and only serve to take the focus off the real law breakers in Sinn Fein. My thoughts are with the bus driver.”

Irish premier Micheal Martin also condemned Wednesday night’s events, tweeting: “I utterly condemn the violent attacks on police, a journalist, and bus driver over recent days in The North.

“Now is the time for the two Governments and leaders on all sides to work together to defuse tensions and restore calm.”

Plans to recall the Assembly were already underway after Alliance Party leader Naomi Long secured the required support of 30 members to force a return.

Ms Long – who serves as Justice Minister – said it is her party’s intention to get all parties at Stormont to “unite around a call for calm and the cessation of violence”.

Ms Long told RTE that she also wants to hear all elected representatives express confidence in policing structures and in the rule of law.

“Over the last number of weeks we have heard increasingly inflammatory public comments around policing in Northern Ireland, political comments that have been deeply and profoundly unsettling and we have then seen this spill over into violence on the streets,” she said.

Northern Ireland unrest
A car drives past the wreckage of a Translink Metrobus on fire on the Shankill Road (Liam McBurney/PA)

The violence has been blamed on anger in response to a decision by the Public Prosecution Service not to pursue prosecutions against members of Sinn Fein who attended the funeral of Mr Storey last year despite restrictions over gatherings, as well as Brexit and localised issues in the south-east Antrim area.

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