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Rioters set fire to bins and use garden fence as shield against police water cannon at the Sandyknowes roundabout in Newtownabbey Alamy Stock Photo
Northern Ireland
Belfast stabbing victim's condition is 'improving', Stormont told
Police and were pelted with bricks and petrol bombs by balaclava-clad rioters in Co Antrim on Wednesday evening.
LAST UPDATE | 11 Jun
THE CONDITION OF the Belfast stabbing victim is “improving” and he could be released from a coma within the next 48 hours, DUP leader Gavin Robinson said.
The East Belfast MP said he met with the parents of Stephen Ogilvie on Thursday afternoon and that the family were “broken” after what had happened to their son.
Mr Ogilvie lost his left eye in a stabbing attack on Monday night which preceded two nights of disorder in Northern Ireland.
“They have spoken very powerfully, in my view, that their desire is that what happened to their son on Monday evening is not used as an excuse for intimidation or division within our society,” Robinson said at Stormont.
“They have asked me to share that whilst their son remains in a coma, his condition is improving.
“They hope, pray and trust that he will be released from that coma within the next 24 or 48 hours, at which point assessments will be made about his sight and other impacts from the atrocity that happened on Monday evening.
“They are grateful for support, but they particularly are calling for an end to the misinformation, the falsehoods and the lies that are only making a very difficult situation all the worse.”
Hadi Alodid (30) appeared in court on Wednesday, charged with attempted murder over Monday’s knife attack in which Mr Ogilvie lost an eye.
Mr Ogilvie’s family urged people to stop sharing “false information on social media” about the attack, adding that they were left “feeling disgusted” by the recent disorder.
In a statement issued by police on Wednesday night, they said: “We want to make it absolutely clear that to do this in response is not supported by our family, and peaceful protest is only ever the way forward.
“We have many migrants who make a deeply valuable contribution to our country, including from within our healthcare system and hospitality sector, and we depend on them to make our country work.
“We do not want this terrible tragedy to be used to divide people or fuel hostility – do not do this in the name of our loved one as we do not share the same values.”
Policing
Police in Northern Ireland will be “back on the ground” in Belfast this evening, with numbers “bolstered” by colleagues from Great Britain, PSNI Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson said.
The increased police presence follows two days of riots and violence in the aftermath of the Belfast knife attack.
In the second night of violence, twelve police officers were injured and 16 arrests were made. Two of those arrested have been charged and are to appear in court today.
Police and were pelted with bricks and petrol bombs by balaclava-clad rioters in Co Antrim on Wednesday evening, as the Belfast stabbing attack victim’s family said they were “disgusted” by the disorder.
Henderson told a press conference in Belfast: “Tonight, we will be back on the ground in significant numbers.
“Our numbers, bolstered by our colleagues from Great Britain, who are joining us on mutual aid, will see officers deployed all across Northern Ireland to protect our communities and to prevent disorder.”
He said police would be “increasing our patrols in and around hospitals” to reassure healthcare staff concerned they may be targeted by racist mobs.
He added that most of the injuries to police officers during the disorder have been “minor” and “most of them are straight back on the line where they want to be out protecting the public”.
Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn condemned the “racist thuggery” which resulted in police using water cannons on rioters.
Asked on Sky News whether these were racist riots rather than protests, he said: “Well, if you are targeting people on the basis of the colour of their skin how else can you describe them? That is racist thuggery, there’s no question about it at all.”
He said ethnic minority people in the region were concerned whether they would be targeted next, as there had been reports of people being stopped in their cars to be asked what their nationality is on their way to work.
Meanwhile, Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland Emma Little-Pengelly told Morning Ireland that “bad actors” are trying to manipulate people’s concerns around immigration.
A Department for Infrastructure vehicle was left in flames as rioters confronted police near the Sandyknowes roundabout in Newtownabbey to the north west of Belfast.
Footage showed dozens of men dressed all in black and wearing face coverings gathering on Antrim Road, where they could be seen tearing bricks from properties and smashing paving stones with sledgehammers to create projectiles to throw at police.
Rioters attempted to set fire to a derelict property near a petrol station in Newtownabbey, with some throwing petrol bombs at police lines.
They could also be seen taking wheelie bins from outside homes and lighting fires in them.
In Derry, police reported items having been set alight on the Ardmore Road.
Public transport was suspended and some schools closed early in Northern Ireland on Wednesday amid fears of a second night of violence.
The reaction to the incident saw mobs set homes, a bus and cars on fire in Belfast on Tuesday, with people targeted based on their race.
Cabinet Office minister Ruth Anderson told the House of Lords that 27 people were made homeless on Tuesday night “because people went door-to-door to try and target foreign nationals to burn them out of their homes”.
British prime minister Keir Starmer vowed to “crack down on anyone who is fuelling this division”.
Social media platform X is among those to have been contacted by the communications regulator Ofcom about online content potentially linked to scenes of violence in Northern Ireland.
Alodid appeared before Belfast Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday morning, charged with the attempted murder of Mr Ogilvie, with threats to kill an NHS radiographer and with possession of a knife.
District Judge Stephen Keown refused bail after hearing police concerns that there could be “significant public disorder” if he was released due to “strong public feeling” about the incident.
The judge warned that anyone who plans to take part in further disorder in Northern Ireland should “be prepared to go to prison”.
The PSNI said social media users “highlighting properties” by posting addresses online or through apps are “putting lives at risk” and may be committing a criminal offence.
“We have received phone calls from a number of families, house owners, neighbours and members of the wider community who are extremely distressed as a result of this reckless activity,” a spokesperson for the PSNI said.
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