Hilary Benn Condemns Racist Thuggery as Rioters Attack Ethnic Minorities in Belfast

Two days of anti-immigration violence in Northern Ireland convulsed Belfast after a knife attack on Monday night that left Stephen Ogilvie severely injured, and Britain's Northern Ireland minister Hilary Benn said the disorder was “racist thuggery.”

“The United Kingdom’s minister for Northern Ireland has condemned the return of mob violence to the province as “racist thuggery””

Al Jazeera

Benn told Sky News that “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.”

Al Jazeera

Police deployed water cannon and plastic bullets, or baton rounds, to tackle rioters for a second night, and Reuters reported that the clashes involved rioters targeting ethnic minorities and foreign residents by torching homes and vehicles.

NBC News said masked men once again torch houses and vehicles in a hunt for anyone they believed to be an immigrant, and it linked the unrest to the stabbing that left Ogilvie in a coma after losing one eye.

Hadi Alodid, a 30-year-old Sudanese man, was arrested and charged with attempted murder over the Monday attack, and he appeared in court Wednesday without entering a plea.

Police and politicians said much of the violence had been encouraged and coordinated online, with Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson telling reporters that “That toxicity is what's bringing people out onto the streets. It needs to stop.”

Henderson added that there may be prosecutions related to social media posts, and the same Reuters account described “significant coordination from online social media activity” involving people both within Northern Ireland and outside the island of Ireland.

Arise News

NBC News reported that outrage in Britain also targeted Elon Musk for posts inciting the riots, including a repost of a message claiming British Prime Minister Keir Starmer “hates white people,” and another sharing an image of the stabbing suspect with “millions must go.”

Labour Party Chair Anna Turley called Musk’s interventions “It’s appalling,” saying “Anyone that is seeking to drive and exploit a situation like this to drive their own political agenda is grievously wrong and doing damage.”

Northern Ireland first minister Michelle O'Neill condemned “the Elon Musks of this world,” saying they were “orchestrating hate and tension,” while Starmer criticized “those who encouraged it, online or elsewhere.”

As violence returned, the Guardian reported that 16 people were arrested and 12 police officers were injured during the second night of anti-immigration protests in Belfast.

“Anti-immigration figures are using social media to exploit anger at the horrific stabbing of a man in Northern Ireland”

Australian Broadcasting Corporation

The Guardian said Benn told BBC Breakfast that the Police Service of Northern Ireland would be receiving assistance from Police Scotland, including dog teams to help with public order control, after people were stopped in their cars and targeted because of the colour of their skin.

The Guardian also quoted Benn’s Sky News line that “there’s no question about it at all,” as he condemned the racial character of the mobs and said the unrest left people from minority ethnic backgrounds living in “terror and fear.”

Al Jazeera reported that police arrested 16 people on Wednesday night and said the case involving Sudanese national Hadi Alodid was not being treated as “terrorism,” with the matter adjourned to July 8.

Gavin Robinson, leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, said Ogilvie’s condition was “improving” after meeting his family, while Ogilvie’s relatives appealed for calm and said violence was “not welcome.”