On Monday night, a video from Belfast was shared on social media. It shows a black man raising his bloodstained hand as he pins a white man to the tarmac on a suburban Belfast street. Onlookers shout. ‘He’s trying to cut his head off’. Local men try to drive him away from the limp victim. Finally the police arrive.
On Tuesday, it was reported that the victim, a man in his 40s, is alive, and in hospital with serious injuries to his eyes, neck and back. A 30-year-old Sudanese man has been charged with possession of a blade in a public place, threats to kill and attempted murder. The suspect, who has been charged, had been granted ‘leave to remain’ for five years by the Home Office in 2023. The man travelled from Sudan to Paris, then flew from Paris to Dublin before boarding a bus to Belfast on 10 February 2023, where he immediately claimed asylum. He was able to take this bus journey because the Common Travel Area, which has existed since 1922, allows unimpeded movement between Ireland and Northern Ireland. I understand this is a route regularly taken by asylum seekers who tell British authorities that Dublin airport’s staff recommend the bus to Belfast.
Unsurprisingly, there were riots in Belfast last night, with migrant homes, businesses and a bus and police car reportedly set alight. Ahead of the protests, the Northern Irish executive and state apparatus unsuccessfully tried to suppress the anger.
Naomi Long, the Alliance Party leader and Northern Ireland’s Justice Minister posted that she ‘would ask people not to share the very graphic images and footage of the attack. They are deeply disturbing and traumatising to view’. Her message was echoed by Jon Boutcher, the PSNI Chief Constable, who warned that ‘sharing footage risks causing further trauma to the injured man’s family and loved ones.’
Northern Ireland’s political leaders then gave a bizarre press conference. In an echo of Starmer’s remarks last week about Henry Nowak, Long talked about ‘those who wish to take the pain, the suffering, the fear, the genuine concern in those communities and weaponise it for other purposes’, and seemed determined that all focus remained on ‘the individual responsible’. Her message was clear: don’t look at the footage. Pretend this is an isolated incident. Carry on as if this is normal.
Long went further, insisting that ‘this is an incident where one individual is responsible’ and ‘there are many dangerous individuals who live in Northern Ireland and were born here, as if the presence of dangerous men means we must import other men we know to pose a very high risk of being dangerous.
Brendan Mullan, Northern Ireland’s police board chair, called for everyone to stand together ‘against hatred and against violence’ – by which, of course, he meant: please don’t treat this as a result of our migration policy.
In what is by now the standard British state line, Boutcher went on to blame ‘today’s online toxic nature and the inciting of hatred…by people who are faceless and know nothing about this brilliant, vibrant place’.
The most bizarre response was from Sinn Fein’s Michelle O’Neill, Northern Ireland’s First Minister. She was asked about Northern Ireland’s ‘porous border’ and described his claim as ‘fake news’ and ‘totally inappropriate’, before adding ‘I don’t know any country that has open borders’. O’Neill must understand that the Common Travel Area (CTA) creates an open border in the island of Ireland. There are no entry or exit controls between Ireland and Northern Ireland. If that isn’t a ‘porous’ or ‘open’ border, it’s hard to imagine what could be.
So the same lies in Belfast as in Westminster. The same unwillingness to face reality. But also a particular, local problem. The CTA is a gaping hole in the UK’s border security. Anyone who makes it to Ireland can wander into the UK entirely unchecked. Since Brexit this system has been under strain, as the UK’s migration policy diverged from the EU’s.
I spoke with Alp Mehmet of Migration Watch, who said ‘If Ireland cannot prevent illegal migrants from entering their country with the intent of travelling to the UK, this arrangement will be undermined, and trust will break down.’
In truth the arrangement has already been undermined. if, as seems likely, the next general election delivers a Reform government committed to ending mass migration and securing our borders, it is hard to see how the CTA will survive.
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