Two days of anti-immigrant violence in Northern Ireland is nothing short of racist thugs, Britain’s minister for the state said on Thursday, after police deployed tear gas in the area. cope with violence for the second night.
Hilary Benn said there was less chaos on the streets of Belfast on Wednesday night than on Tuesday, when rioters targeted ethnic minorities and foreign residents by burning homes and cars following a knife attack in which a Sudanese man has been charged with attempted murder.
But many of those who clashed with police on Wednesday were looking to find a hotel outside Belfast which has previously been a target for asylum seekers. Officers used tear gas to drive back the rebels and Reuters saw what appeared to be plastic bullets, or batons, on the streets.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland declined to comment.
Asked on Sky News whether the violence was racial unrest rather than a protest, Benn said: “Well, if you’re targeting people on the basis of the color of their skin, how can you be more specific? That’s racist bullshit”.
Police and politicians say much of the violence was encouraged and coordinated online. In recent days lists have circulated showing where asylum seekers were living, immigration business addresses were published and a nurses’ union official said ethnic minority nurses were being chased by masked people as they tried to get to work.
