Belfast

A horrific knife attack on a street in June sparked another summer’s night of racial violence, stoked by loyalist groups. How did the unrest erupt – and why do many fear it will happen again?Shortly after 10.30pm on Monday 8 June, as a summer twilight lingered over Belfast, a horrific scene unfolded on Kinnaird Avenue: a man straddled and repeatedly stabbed a figure lying on the ground in a bloody assault that ended only after onlookers intervened.Others captured the drama on cameraphones and uploaded the footage to social media. Once seen, the grainy images were hard to forget, and by dawn on Tuesday 9 June they were ricocheting around X, WhatsApp, Facebook, Telegram and other platforms. Continue reading...

Media regulator to take no action despite receiving 446 complaints about comments by Bev TurnerGB News will not be investigated by the media regulator after a presenter insisted there was no riot in Belfast last month, despite cars and houses being set alight, attacks on police and families fleeing their homes.Ofcom received more than 400 complaints following the comments by Bev Turner, presenter of the broadcaster’s Late Show Live, who said there “weren’t riots” and that no houses had been burnt in the violent disorder. Continue reading...

Warren Lyttle, who was in his 40s, died from his injuries after incident on the Braniel estate on FridayA man in his 40s has died after falling from an Eleventh Night bonfire in Belfast, police said.The incident occurred on the Braniel estate in the east of the city on Friday night. Continue reading...

Police make several arrests as rival demonstrators take to streets of Brighton, Liverpool, Sheffield and GlasgowFar-right marches took place across the UK on Saturday after violent unrest in Belfast and Southampton in recent days.Several people were arrested on Saturday afternoon as far-right groups clashed with anti-racist and anti-fascist demonstrators in Brighton, Liverpool, Sheffield and Glasgow. Continue reading...

The violent disturbances occurred in a nationalist area yet played out against a backdrop of union jacksAs the racially motivated violence unfolded in Northern Ireland this week, a striking dissonanace could be seenbehind the mobs and flames and smoke.The knife attack that triggered the disturbances occurred in a nationalist area yet the mayhem played out against a backdrop of union jacks and loyalist murals. Continue reading...

People tell of feeling alienated in own city, disruption to daily life including healthcare, and frustration with politiciansBelfast residents have reacted with anger and disgust at the disorder in the city in response to a an online callout by the Guardian.People were asked if they had been affected by the unrest sparked by the stabbing of Stephen Ogilvie in the city earlier in the week. Continue reading...

After nights of violence across Belfast this week, politicians continue to call for calm, but what else can be done to stop the violence spreading? Plus, Jessica Elgot has been to Makerfield and spoken to undecided voters on the doorstepThe full list of candidates for the Makerfield byelection: Continue reading...

The Guardian reporter Hannah Al-Othman on the anti-immigrant rioting in Northern Ireland and the residents afraid for their livesStella and Sumayah are housemates. Both care workers and students from Uganda, they live together in west Belfast.On Tuesday night, the riots across the city came to their street. The neighbouring houses were set on fire, smoke was coming through the door, masked men were outside. Continue reading...

People in city’s minority ethnic communities speak of alarm as violence casts light on racism in Northern IrelandAs widespread violence broke out in Belfast, a list of addresses began circulating on social media. Spread geographically wide, on dozens of streets across the city, the addresses were reportedly houses of multiple occupation (HMOs) where immigrants live.Joseph and Solomon, both from Eritrea, came to Belfast as refugees, now have leave to remain, and work full-time. They live on the same street as one of the properties on the list, but Joseph thought it was theirs that was meant to be on it. “It’s obviously for us,” he said. Continue reading...

Exclusive: PSNI repeatedly warned by monitoring group for eight months after a so-called hitlist of addresses began circulating in far-right networksA monitoring group repeatedly warned the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) over the past eight months that anti-immigration activists were circulating the addresses of properties that were targeted in this week’s Belfast riots.The Accountability Project Northern Ireland, a volunteer group formed last summer to monitor anti-immigration activity online, sent dozens of reports to police between November 2025 and June 2026. Continue reading...

‘If you are targeting people on the basis of the colour of their skin how else can you describe them?’ said Hilary BennFull report: Police use water cannon against rioters in Northern IrelandGavin Robinson MP, DUP leader, has said borders into the UK need “protecting” more. Speaking on BBC’s Good Morning Ulster, he also said that he believed that there was “less” violence last night than on Monday.Of the violence, he said: “You cannot raise your concerns about damage to British values and then behave in such an unBritish way, Continue reading...

Politicians, social media and far-right agitators convinced people that migrant-targeting violence would solve all their problemsWithin minutes of the footage going online – of a Black man stabbing a white man – there was a sense of inexorability to what came next in Northern Ireland.The grievances, the social media platforms, the politicians’ doublespeak and the international cheerleaders all provided a fuse. On Monday night came the spark. Continue reading...

Any official reprimand will come from regulator Ofcom, but not for at least two monthsUK politics live – latest updatesElon Musk’s X will face no action to remove a mass of posts inciting violence in Northern Ireland for at least two months, despite widespread condemnation of the platform and its billionaire owner.Concern over the role social media played in spreading disturbing images and fuelling anger continued to grow on Wednesday as police and community leaders urged calm. Continue reading...

Relatives of Stephen Ogilvie say unrest is unwelcome and that many migrants make valuable contribution to UKThe family of the victim of the Belfast knife attack have called for calm after riots erupted across the city.Stephen Ogilvie is in hospital having lost his left eye in the attack, footage of which was shared widely on social media late on Monday evening and through the day on Tuesday. Continue reading...

Hadi Alodid, 30, further charged with possessing a knife in a public place and making threats to kill on same dayA man has appeared in court accused of the attempted murder of a man in Belfast on Monday night.Hadi Alodid, 30, of Duncairn Avenue, Belfast, was charged with the attempted murder of Stephen Ogilvie. He was further charged with possessing a knife in a public place, Kinnaird Avenue, on the same day. Continue reading...

30-year-old man to appear in court today charged with attempted murder, with Keir Starmer expected to face questions on the disorder during PMQsGood morning. Soon after becoming PM in 2024, Keir Starmer had to deal with a period of rioting in England, prompted by the Southport murders and mostly targeted at asylum seekers. Last night, in Northern Ireland, there were similar race riots, triggered by a knife attack involving a Sudanese suspect. Here is our overnight story about the rioting.And this is what Claire Hanna, the SDLP leader and MP for Belfast South and Mid Down, said about the attacks on Newsnight last night.What you’re seeing is a race-based pogrom. We are seeing men going door to door asking to get the foreigners out based exclusively on the colour of their skin. It’s not based on what they’re contributing to society, what their status here is and it’s terrifying for people in Belfast who want this sort of politics to be far beyond them.If people are exploiting the common travel agreement in this way, that’s not acceptable. That’s not what it’s there for.It’s been in existence for over 100 years and it’s absolutely right that people can travel between the island and Northern Ireland freely. Continue reading...

Northern Ireland’s justice minister says online ‘bad faith actors’ have incited racism in city after knife attackThe disorder in Belfast was fuelled by people online who would have struggled to find the city on a map before a recent stabbing attack, a senior Northern Ireland minister has said.Naomi Long, the minister of justice of Northern Ireland and leader of the Alliance party, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that “bad faith actors” had incited racism in the city. Continue reading...

Protests across the city turned violent on Tuesday night – with some police officers appearing to conclude it wasn’t safe to interveneOn a residential street draped in loyalist flags near Belfast’s Shankill Road, the masked men approached a house with a boarded-up window and a security camera stationed outside.As a woman from an ethnic minority background looked down from an upstairs window, some of the men rushed the front door and broke it down. With the air thick with smoke from fireworks, they attacked the downstairs windows with bricks. Continue reading...

Fears grow over anti-immigration protests after asylum seeker charged with attempted murder in Northern IrelandThe Sudanese barber shop owner was at his cash register and smiling at the question, “Did he feel safe in Belfast?”, when two men strolling down the street paused at his open doorway and unleashed a sudden, shrieking howl.It ended as abruptly as it began and without saying a word the two men, white, in their 20s, wearing grey tracksuits, resumed their stroll. Continue reading...

Maitiu Mag Tighearnan said he was there by chance and managed to ‘protect a young lad’A man who used a hurling stick to fight off a knifeman in north Belfast has been named as Maitiu Mag Tighearnan.Tighearnan, from Northern Ireland, was filmed hitting the assailant five times on the head with the wooden hurley as other people kicked and punched him on Kinnaird Avenue on Monday night. Continue reading...

Attack was filmed and shared online prompting Elon Musk and others to call for anti-immigration protestsPoliticians from across the spectrum have called for calm after a knife attack in Belfast, Northern Ireland, prompted widespread shock and condemnation.There are fears that there could be widespread disorder after figures on social media including Elon Musk called for people to fill the streets in protest against immigration. The alleged perpetrator of the attack, which was filmed and shared widely online, was revealed today as an asylum seeker from Sudan. Continue reading...

Prime minister says he has no tolerance for such attacks after man arrested on suspicion of attempted murderA man has been seriously injured in north Belfast in a stabbing described by Keir Starmer as “sickening”.The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said officers were called at around 10.30pm on Monday and the injured man was taken to hospital. Continue reading...

Port has upgraded offshore wind facilities and is to expand quays, ferry terminals and cruise ship servicesThe operator of Belfast harbour plans to spend £1.3bn over the next 25 years to take advantage of strong economic growth in Northern Ireland, in what would be one of the largest non-governmental investments in the region’s history.The Belfast Harbour Commissioners said the money would be spent on upgrading the port, with the possibility of residential property developments that could add another £750m in investment on top. Continue reading...

What began as a tiny space above the founder’s stables became the beating heart of the city’s performing arts. Its leader Jimmy Fay reflects on recent hits and reveals what audiences can expect from the theatre’s anniversary year‘The Lyric gives voice to everyone in Northern Ireland,” says the theatre’s boss, Jimmy Fay. “It’s a beacon.” Fay views the 2026 programme, celebrating 75 years of the Lyric, as an opportunity to showcase current creative talent, as well as honouring the theatre’s past.One of the plays from the repertoire that Fay was keen to revive is Christina Reid’s Tea in a China Cup, from 1983. With a cast including Marie Jones, the new production – which runs in May – is directed by Dan Gordon, who performed in the original. Reid’s play traces the daily lives of Protestant working-class women in Belfast across three decades, from the second world war to the Troubles, with humour and poignancy. Continue reading...

Police say attack in Dunmurry in which no one was hurt shows ‘murderous intent still exists’ in paramilitaries“Murderous intent and capability” still exists within paramilitaries in Northern Ireland, officers have said after a car exploded outside a police station on the outskirts of Belfast.Detectives said they believed the New IRA was involved and are treating it as attempted murder. Continue reading...

Three men from Derry charged with murder of journalist, who was hit by bullet while observing 2019 riotingThree men accused of the murder of the Belfast journalist Lyra McKee have been linked to the scene by clothing and physical features, a court has heard.The New IRA claimed responsibility for the death of McKee, 29, who died after being hit by a bullet as she stood close to police vehicles while observing rioting in the Creggan area of Derry on 18 April 2019. Continue reading...

Declan Conlon will argue officials have failed to act despite clear evidence of the ecological collapse of Lough NeaghAn eel fisher is to argue at the high court in Belfast that the authorities have allowed the ecological collapse of Lough Neagh by failing to take action over pollution.Declan Conlon, whose family have for generations fished the inland lake in Northern Ireland that once hosted the largest wild eel fishery in Europe, is seeking to take a judicial review against the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (Daera). He will argue the department has failed to act against polluters despite clear evidence of the ecological collapse of the lake. Continue reading...