Police chief urges those ‘who know nothing about Northern Ireland’ not to stir up disorder via social media – UK politics live

Key events

More ministers are coming out with appeals for calm, ahead of potential unrest.

Cabinet minister Bridget Phillipson said that more violence would be the “worst possible response” to the Belfast knife attack. Speaking on LBC Radio, she said: “What we’re urging now is a period of calm.

“I appreciate that people are horrified by what they have seen, but the worst possible response to that kind of violence would be further violence or disorder.”

There are also concerns about who might be targeted.

First minister of Northern Irelan Michelle O’Neill said that those who seek to stoke-up tensions, particularly on social media, “do not represent us”.

She urged people to separate the knife attack from others from minority ethnic communities, saying: “We need to say no racism, no to hatred, no to sectarianism that is out there in our society.

At the Stormont news conference Michelle O’Neill, the first minister, insisted that Northern was not operating an “open borders” immigration system.

She said:

I don’t know any country that has open borders.

I believe in an immigration system that is fair and managed and enforceable and compassionate and human rights compliant, but that is not the debate for today.

The debate today is about our society, about our inclusive society, our welcoming society.

Our conversation today is about our thoughts are very much with that gentleman who finds himself as a victim of that violent and horrific attack last night.

Our thoughts today are about creating calm in our society.

That’s all from me for today. My colleague Siraj Datoo is taking over now.

Belfast knife attack suspect was Sudanese national with leave to remain in UK until 2028, Home Office says

The Home Office has confirmed the suspect in the Belfast stabbing incident is a Sudanese national with leave to remain in the UK until 2028, the Press Association reports.

Following the stabbing on Monday night, which left a man with significant injuries to his eyes, the Home Office said the suspect had entered the UK in 2023 and was granted refugee status the same year.

He claims to have entered the UK via the Common Travel Area, they added.

(An earlier post, at 4.28pm, has been corrected because it originally said Nigel Farage was talking about indefinite leave to remain when in fact he was talking about leave to remain.)

Elon Musk backs far-right, online calls for protests in response to Belfast stabbing

It is not to see why the Police Service of Northern Ireland is worried about disorder tonight. There is a history of anti-immigrant rioting in Northern Ireland, with the most prominent recent example being last year’s mob violence in Ballymena, which led to dozens of Romanian and Bulgarian Roma families having to flee their homes.

Tommy Robinson, the far-right, anti-migrant activist and provocateur, has been using his X account to publicise a list of places where he is calling for “mass protest” in Northern Ireland. Within the last hour, his list has been retweeted approvingly by Elon Musk, who owns X and has 240m followers on the platform.

These are the sorts of people Jon Boutcher, the PSNI chief constable, probably had in mind when he spoke earlier about the risk posed by “people who know nothing about Northern Ireland … [commenting] from afar through social media”. (See 4.49pm.)

Stormont press conference. Left to right: justice minister Naomi Long, deputy first minister Emma Little-Pengelly, PSNI chief Constable Jon Boutcher, first minister Michelle O'Neill and chair of the policing board Brenda Mullan. Photograph: Liam McBurney/PA

The Stormont press conference. Photograph: Liam McBurney/PA

PSNI chief urges people not to be 'fooled or duped' by voices online 'inciting hatred' and encouraging 'awful behaviour'

At the Stormont press conference Boutcher suggested the “toxic” nature of online debate was making policing more difficult. He urged people to ignore voices online “inciting hatred”.

He said:

We have got incredible communities across Northern Ireland.

The challenge we face with today’s online toxic nature, and the inciting of hatred, is that that manifests itself by people doing things that they would not ordinarily do, and they are incited by people who are faceless and know nothing about this brilliant, vibrant place.

I said earlier, what defined Northern Ireland last night was the reaction of the neighbours of that victim in going to his aid without any fear for their own safety.

That’s the Northern Ireland that I know and I appeal again – and that’s why we’re all here today – for everybody who is repulsed by what happened last night to understand the person responsible is in custody.

Where there are any concerns about immigration, let’s have those through a political debate. Let the criminal justice process take its course.

And let’s just remember that all of our communities in Northern Ireland almost entirely contribute positively to this place.

And don’t be fooled or duped into a trap by people online inciting awful behaviour.

PSNI Jon Boutcher speaking to the media at a press conference at Stormont. Photograph: Liam McBurney/PA

At the press conference Naomi Long, the justice minister, said there were “challenges” with the common travel area, which allows people to cross the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland without having to pass through controls.

She said:

I have raised the issue with the Home Office in the past around trafficking, both human trafficking and other trafficking across the border. I’ve raised it also with Jim O’Callaghan [the Irish justice, home affairs and migration minister] though it is more for the Home Office to do so.

But I recognise that there are challenges when you can travel freely, and what we don’t want on either side of the border is to see the common travel area being exploited for ill purposes.

We have been clear about that. The important thing, however, now is not to demonise any particular community, any particular group of people.

In response to a question at the press conference about the legal status of the suspect, Boutcher said that would be something for lawyers to debate.

He went on:

There was nothing to prevent that individual from coming into this country, and he sought leave to remain through his asylum application. His status when he crossed that border is still undetermined by us, but it’s something that we’ll be looking at, and will come out in the fullness of time.

PSNI chief urges people not to let those 'who know nothing about Northern Ireland' stir up disorder via social media

In his opening statement at the press conference Boutcher also warned people against being influenced “from afar through social media” in the wake of a knife attack. He said:

There will be an increased police presence across Northern Ireland this evening and in the coming days to provide help, support, and reassurance for all our communities, and to keep everybody safe.

There is considerable posting on social media. I appeal for everyone to be mindful of what they view and share online. Sharing footage risks causing further trauma to the injured man’s family and loved ones, and may impact on this investigation.

He also said plans for protests were being carefully monitored.

We are aware, of course, of protest activity being discussed across Northern Ireland this evening, and we continue to monitor this very carefully.

And I understand that last night’s attempted murder will leave people feeling enraged with emotions from fear to anger, but please, please let the PSNI, let the police do their job unfettered and undistracted by wider concerns there may be about disorder.

Do not let people who know nothing about Northern Ireland impact on the behaviours of our people in Northern Ireland from afar through social media.

Remember the actions of those members of the public, they truly define our society in Northern Ireland, they saved a man’s life last night.

Do not let the actions of that man impact on any further harm to anybody else in Northern Ireland.

In his statement at the press conferene Boutcher said the people who intervened to help the stabbing victim last night saved his life.

He said:

I want to especially acknowledge the courage of those members of the public who ran towards danger to intervene and help the injured man and the PSNI officers who arrived so quickly to arrest the offender.

I have absolutely no doubt that those members of the public saved that man’s life.

Belfast knife attack suspect arrived in Belfast from Dublin in 2023 and claimed asylum, chief constable says

At the press conferencce Jon Boutcher, the chief constable of the PSNI, gave more details of the identity of the suspect. He said the suspect was understood to be Sudanese.

He said:

It’s my understanding that the suspect was granted leave to remain in the United Kingdom on the 28 of September of 2023.

Again, this is to be confirmed, but I’m informed that he made his way from Sudan to Paris at dates unknown, and from Paris he flew to Dublin at a date yet to be determined.

From my current understanding, he then travelled from Dublin to Belfast by bus on the 10 of February of 2023 and claimed asylum on that date.

There is no trace of this suspect on any of our national security databases, and he was not known to the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

I’ve been in direct contact with the head of terrorism policing in the UK. At this stage we have no information to suggest that this was terrorist related.

I do appreciate the nature of the attack has led to speculation it is terrorist related, however there is nothing to suggest that that is the case.