The Belfast anti-immigration riots earlier this month were “intolerable”, “incapable of justification” and the actions of racists, British prime minister, Keir Starmer said during a brief visit to the city.
The prime minister met injured Police Service of Northern Ireland officers, senior force officers and members of Belfast’s immigrant community at the PSNI’s training college in East Belfast.
He had come, he said, “very importantly, to speak to some of the communities most impacted about the fear that they have, the anxiety that they have about the recent disorder. The disorder is intolerable. It is incapable of justification. It’s clearly racist.
“And it does not represent the forward-looking Northern Ireland that I know that this place is,” Mr Starmer said, adding that he had particularly wanted to meet officers who tackled the disorder, including those who were injured.
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“Many of them have been injured and my purpose was to say to them thank you for what they have done. We make big asks of them, they step up and they deserve our thanks.”
The prime minister met a number of immigrant leaders, including Nisha Tandon from Belfast’s Islamic Centre and Muhammad Atif, a trustee of the Muslim-run Belfast Multi-Cultural Association, along with Lori Gatsi-Barnett from the African and Caribbean Support Organisation, NI.
Questioned about PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher’s demands for greater resources, Mr Starmer said that they had spoken about what further support can be given “both immediately and in the medium and long term”.
The prime minister was also circumspect about the proposed Casement Park redevelopment, saying, yet again, that the British Government continues to look into “the timing and cost” of the project, even though time is running out.
However, he became much more exercised when he was questioned about the role being played in the project by his chief of staff, Sue Grey, a former senior Northern Ireland Office and treasury official.
In recent weeks there have been a number of reports in the London right-wing press alleging that significant divisions have emerged in No 10 Downing St because of the pressure being put behind the project by Grey to get a go-ahead for the stadium needed for the European Championships in 2028.
Clearly irritated by the question, Mr Starmer, who controversially hired Grey direct from a senior civil service position, said: “Yes, that’s complete nonsense. So I hope that’s clear enough. The decision is a political decision.
“The key challenges at the moment, I think, are well known, particularly in Northern Ireland, which is the timing in relation to the Euros and the cost. There are issues that we’re looking at very carefully. We’ll try to say some more in due course,” he said.
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