Claims of two-tier policing and uncontrolled immigration may not be borne out by the facts, but that has not stopped them being played up for political ends
As the people of Glengormley, on the northern edge of Belfast, tidied up and prepared for more violence in the midst of what has been described as a modern-day pogrom, a court 500 miles away in Southampton, on the south coast of England, started to deal with its own outbreak of thuggery.
The trigger for this week’s riots in the Northern Irish capital had been the image of a black assailant who appeared to be stabbing and slashing his supine white victim in the face and neck while shouting in Arabic. The suspect was later revealed to be a refugee from Sudan.
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© Photograph: Henry Nicholls/AFP/Getty Images
© Photograph: Henry Nicholls/AFP/Getty Images
© Photograph: Henry Nicholls/AFP/Getty Images
The violent disturbances occurred in a nationalist area yet played out against a backdrop of union jacks
As the racially motivated violence unfolded in Northern Ireland this week, a striking dissonanace could be seenbehind the mobs and flames and smoke.
The knife attack that triggered the disturbances occurred in a nationalist area yet the mayhem played out against a backdrop of union jacks and loyalist murals.
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© Photograph: Lab Mo/SOPA Images/Shutterstock
© Photograph: Lab Mo/SOPA Images/Shutterstock
© Photograph: Lab Mo/SOPA Images/Shutterstock
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As armed forces minister, Al Carns was not involved in work on the defence investment plan (Dip). In his resignation letter, he said it was flawed not just because of the amount of funding involved; he also claimed it focused too much on the wrong capability. He said (and I’ve highlighted the key phrases in bold):
The character of conflict is changing faster than our procurement can keep up with. We are still purchasing capability suitable for the last war while our adversaries arm for the next one. Platforms that cost billions can be defeated by systems that cost thousands. Any serious defence investment plan has to start from that reality.
While I had no hand in the defence investment plan, that distance does allow me to say plainly that it is not built for the threat we face.
I want to see a higher percentage for uncrewed systems, AI, data – data is the new gunpowder – and we’ve got to move that forward if we are going to win the next war.
Too many working people in this country feel insecure even when they are doing everything right. They work hard, contribute, pay their taxes and still feel one setback away from trouble. Public confidence in our institutions is weakening and politics increasingly looks performative while everyday life gets harder.
The machinery of government itself has been left to decay. Decisions that should take days, take months. Departments fight each other instead of the problem. Officials and ministers who know the truth are not always rewarded for telling it. We are trying to govern a more dangerous world with processes designed for a calmer one, and the gap is now showing in the things that matter most.
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© Photograph: Alastair Grant/AFP/Getty Images
© Photograph: Alastair Grant/AFP/Getty Images
© Photograph: Alastair Grant/AFP/Getty Images
Figures suggest common travel area being used in both directions, but particularly UK to Ireland
Up to 90% of asylum seekers in Ireland may have entered the country via the Northern Ireland land border in the last three years, figures suggest.
Irish government data shows the common travel area (CTA) is being exploited in both directions but suggests it may be more popular for those seeking asylum in Ireland than in the UK.
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© Photograph: Clodagh Kilcoyne/Reuters
© Photograph: Clodagh Kilcoyne/Reuters
© Photograph: Clodagh Kilcoyne/Reuters
Widespread anti-immigration riots broke out across the UK on Tuesday following a particularly violent knife attack in Northern Ireland. The unrest was triggered by news that a thirty-year-old Sudanese national had been charged with attempted murder. Prime Minister Keir Starmer strongly condemned the initial attack, labeling it both “horrific” and “sickening,” while stating he has zero tolerance for such violence.
BREAKING: A bus has been set on fire in Belfast amid protests over the attempted beheading of a man pic.twitter.com/FX8maCMalK
— Politics UK (@PolitlcsUK) June 9, 2026
The unrest was most intense in Northern Ireland, where masked mobs caused extensive property damage on Tuesday evening:
A large group rioters is attacking migrant HMOs (Houses in Multiple Occupation, a form of taxpayer-funded housing for asylum seekers) in Belfast. pic.twitter.com/o9yjynArd4
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) June 9, 2026
The catalyst for the riots was a viral video filmed by a witness during Monday night’s attack in North Belfast. The footage depicts a man pinning a bloodied victim to the ground and repeatedly stabbing him before bystanders and police intervened. Far-right and anti-immigration accounts widely circulated the footage online to mobilize public protests.
Further update from police sources, a property has been set alight in the Lendrick Street area of Belfast.
Emergency services are heading that way.
An earlier bus fire on the Newtownards Road has been extinguished. @BelTel pic.twitter.com/YuNYtTWIXf
— Kevin Scott (@Kscott_94) June 9, 2026
First Minister O’Neill warned that extremist groups are dangerously exploiting a heinous crime to target and intimidate innocent people who are just trying to live their lives.
The incident occurred around 10:30 p.m. on Monday, June 8 on Canard Avenue in North Belfast. A man in his forties suffered severe wounds to his face, back, and eyes. He remains hospitalized in serious condition. Police recovered a kitchen knife at the scene.
A thirty-year-old man was arrested for attempted murder. Authorities confirmed he had traveled from Paris to Dublin before entering Northern Ireland in February 2023. He claimed asylum upon arrival and was granted legal residency in the UK until 2028.
Related: Far-Right Activist Robinson Spotted in Greece as Riots Spread in the UK
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