NI campaigner receives death threats

An anti-racism campaigner in the North has received a death threat following comments he made earlier this week over attacks on Romanians in Belfast.

Paddy Meehan, who helped organise a protest earlier this week over the attacks, was informed by the PSNI yesterday that it had received a tip-off that his home was to be firebombed.

An estimated 115 Romanians - including a five-day-old baby girl - were moved into temporary accommodation after evacuating their homes in the Lisburn Road area in the south of the city after being forced to shelter in a church hall after fleeing their homes following the attacks.

Speaking last night, Mr Mehan said that the threat revealed the mentality of the type of people who have been carrying out the racist attacks.

"Their aim is to take away all democratic rights. It is important that local communities are mobilised to defeat these groups now while they are small and that is exactly what I and other local residents are now determined to do,” he said.

On Wednesday night a Romanian family was attacked in east Belfast when a window was smashed in their home on the Upper Newtownards.

The police have faced criticism over their handling of the violence, but PSNI Chief Constable Sir Hugh Orde defended his officers’ conduct.

“It was a confusing picture, as I have pointed out,” he said.

“The officers did their best in all those circumstances.”

Yesterday Mr Robinson said the power-sharing government in place at Stormont had stood together to face down terrorism and sectarianism and would do the same with racism.

“Every one of us would hope and expect that they are given the best of treatment, we want to reciprocate that.”

He said the best possible outcome was for the police to secure convictions against the guilty.

Mr McGuinness said: “It is a totally shameful episode and I believe that the vast majority of our people share our anger, and we have been very angry, at what has transpired over the course of the last number of days.”

A leading Romanian diplomat is expected to continue political meetings in Northern Ireland today after the attacks.

The Romanian ambassador to the UK Dr Ion Jinga yesterday met Northern Ireland First Minister Peter Robinson and deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness at Stormont.

Today he will meet Lord Mayor of Belfast Naomi Long and Sir Hugh Orde.

Last night the ambassador said he was shocked by the attacks over the last week which have seen Romanian families targeted in the south and east of Belfast.

“I have been encouraged by the reaction of public opinion here because every reaction I have seen in the media at least was in objection to what happened two days ago,” he said.

“I come to my first visit to Belfast in an unfortunate and unhappy context. It is a place where we could build up projects on economic grounds, cultural exchanges, social co-operation — there are so many things that can be done together.”

Additional reporting PA