Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Belfast for PSNI meeting after 'racist' riots
Prime Minister Keir Starmer was on a whistle-stop visit to Northern Ireland on Monday to meet with PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher and police officers.
He said it was important for the Prime Minister to meet with those officers who had been on the front lines during the recent "racist riots".
Sir Keir also discussed police resources as well as the long-delayed Casement Park redevelopment.
Prime Minister meets police in Belfast injured in recent disorder
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has personally thanked police officers who were injured during recent disorder, for their service.He also met representatives from minority ethnic communities who had been targeted in violence in which a number of businesses were destroyed and a mosque attacked.At least 20 police officers were injured in a spate of violent incidents in early August in Northern Ireland, after anti-immigration protests.Bricks, petrol bombs and other missiles were thrown at officers as anti-immigration protests brought wider unrest to areas such as Londonderry.
Police Service of Northern Ireland Chief Constable Jon Boutcher said some of the officers are due to undergo surgery, and that he expects them to be OK, but the “nature of what they faced, even for some of those seasoned officers, has taken them aback”.He said there had been some “really near misses to very serious injuries”.Sir Keir, with Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn, was by Mr Boutcher and Assistant Chief Constable Melanie Jones.The Prime Minister said it had been “quite an intense few weeks”, to agreement from Ms Jones, who played a leading role in the PSNI’s response to the disorder, and referred to “some long days”.With police numbers in Northern Ireland about 1,000 below the recommended strength, about 80 officers from Police Scotland have been in the region over the last week to support the PSNI.Mr Boutcher told the Prime Minister they had been a “breath of fresh air”, and said they had “fitted in really well with our staff” and “understood the importance of it”.The Prime Minister next met injured police officers, including Constable Josh Elliott, discussing with him how the community had “rallied round each other”. Sir Keir added: “That’s the real Northern Ireland.”He later met leaders from a number of organisations which represent the minority ethnic community in Northern Ireland.Among them was Nisha Tandon, the founder and director of ArtsEkta, which runs Belfast Mela, a major community festival which celebrates diversity.She said the meeting had been very positive, and she was delighted to have had the opportunity to speak to the Prime Minister.“It was more engagement than a lot of us have had with Stormont politicians and we very much welcomed it, he seemed to be in listening mode as we spoke to him,” she said.“It was good to get that opportunity.”The Prime Minister said at the end of his visit that one of his purposes had been to thank those police officers who had been on the front line and meet communities most affected by the disorder.“My purpose was to say to them thank you for what they have done. We make big asks of the police officers, they step up and they deserve our thanks,” he said.“I have also had the chance to speak to the PSNI senior leadership, and third, and very importantly, to speak to some of the communities most impacted about the fear, the anxiety that they have about the recent disorder.“The disorder is intolerable. It is incapable of justification. It’s clearly racist and it does not represent the modern forward-looking Northern Ireland that I know that this place is.“I do think it’s very important to come and say thank you, very important for the Prime Minister to come here to talk to the frontline officers face to face and humbly say thank you for what they and their colleagues have done.”
PM says reports of Sue Gray row on Casement Park ‘nonsense’
Reports that Sue Gray has caused division in Government over support for Casement Park are “complete nonsense”, the Prime Minister has said.The derelict west Belfast ground has been earmarked to host five matches in Euro 2028, being jointly hosted by the UK and Ireland.However, the funding required to rebuild the stadium in time for the showpiece football tournament is not in place, prompting concerns that the delays will see Belfast missing out.There has also been mounting speculation that the long-delayed redevelopment of the GAA stadium would not be completed in time for the Euros.It has been reported that Ms Gray has expressed support for financing the £300 million project, with the Downing Street Chief of Staff being accused of subverting cabinet ministers in the talks.DUP MP Sammy Wilson is among those who have raised concerns over the alleged role of Ms Gray in the negotiations.Asked whether her involvement had caused divisions at Cabinet, Sir Keir Starmer told reporters on Monday: “That’s complete nonsense, I hope that’s clear enough.”Sir Keir said “obvious issues” around timing and the cost of developing the stadium are being considered carefully.“The decision is a political decision. The key challenges at the moment, I think, are well known, particularly in Northern Ireland, which is the timing in relation to the Euros and the cost.”Speaking to reporters during a visit to Belfast, he said: “Obviously there’s a joint venture, the UK and Ireland together in relation to the Euros.“We want football played everywhere in support of those Euros. Casement Park, obviously, is important in that respect.”He added: “In due course, we’ll be able to say more.”Costs for the long-delayed Casement project have spiralled, with reports suggesting the projected costs have soared beyond £300 million.In 2011, the Stormont executive committed £62.5 million to the project.Earlier this year, the GAA sporting body said it will contribute £15 million.The Irish Government has offered roughly £42 million towards the project and indicated it may be open to spending more.
PM says financial support for Harland & Wolff ‘under review’
The market is “best placed” to deal with financial difficulties faced by Harland & Wolff, the Prime Minister has said.The Government has decided not to offer financial support to the troubled Belfast shipbuilder over concerns of losing public money.The company, which is part of a consortium that landed a major contract to build new Fleet Solid Support ships for the Royal Navy, had applied for a £200 million loan guarantee from the Government as part of efforts to restructure its finances.However, the Government decided not to act as a guarantor on the lending – while also ruling out direct funding to maintain the company’s liquidity.Speaking to reporters, Sir Keir Starmer said the decision will be kept “under close review”.He said: “We’ve obviously looked at that very carefully, the Business Secretary has made a decision about it.“Of course, we will keep that under close review.“We do think the market is best placed to deal with the current situation, but we’ll keep it under review because the work – particularly in the defence realm – is very, very important to us.”Harland & Wolff, which famously built the Titanic, has four sites – one in Belfast, two in Scotland (Methil on the Firth of Forth and Arnish on the Isle of Lewis) and one in England (Appledore in north Devon).The company has said it will seek alternative new debt facilities.
Catch up with the latest UTV Live on ITVX
Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know.