Immigration must be treated as a national security threat after violence broke out in Belfast last night, the UK’s terror watchdog chief has said.
Jonathan Hall, who serves as the independent reviewer of terror laws, warned violence against migrants was “becoming more relevant” to national security after a Sudanese asylum seeker was charged with attempted murder following a knife attack in the Northern Irish capital.
The leading barrister claimed events in Northern Ireland had been “extraordinarily destabilising” and had “huge ramifications” after widespread violence engulfed the province last night.
Mr Hall said: “If [people from] certain countries are more likely either to commit very serious offences or particular offences, or to get involved with state threat activity, do we need to start thinking about migration now, not simply in terms of the economy and housing, but also in terms of national security?
“Ultimately, national security is to help the nation, and having a stable nation where people feel they can go about their business.
“At the moment, there are people who happen to be black and brown, but as British as you and me, who probably feel they can’t go about that business, and that is destabilising the nation.
“So, I think it’s absolutely necessary to talk about immigration in the context of national security. I think it’s a conversation that has been raised by the US White House. At the moment, I haven’t yet heard a response, I’ve just heard silence.”
Last night’s disorder broke out across Ulster after Hadi Aloddid, 30, allegedly attacked Stephen Ogilvie on Monday night.
Mr Ogilvie lost his left eye, suffered deep cuts to his face and sustained lacerations to his back.
Belfast was left burning after thousands protested Monday’s knife attack
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Mr Alodid arrived in Northern Ireland via a bus from Dublin in February 2023.
He made it to the Emerald Isle after leaving Sudan and travelling to Paris.
The Home Office accepted his asylum request and gave him leave to remain just six months after arriving in the UK.
However, concerns about migration have sparked a row in Stormont and Westminster.
PSNI is on standby for more disorder later today
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Democratic Unionist Party leader Gavin Robinson said Northern Ireland’s “open porous border” with the Republic should now close, ending the common travel area first established in 1923.
Sir Keir Starmer met with DUP MPs to discuss the matter after today’s Prime Minister’s Questions.
Mr Ogilvie’s family issued a statement earlier today asking for calm, echoing calls from senior political figures in Stormont last night.
The statement said: “We are aware of the tensions and talk of protests following this incident.
Jonathan Hall KC has warned that broadening the terrorism definition would ‘risk major false positives’ | INTERNATIONAL CENTRE FOR COUNTER-TERRORISM
“We want to make it absolutely clear that overnight unrest is not welcome, and peaceful protest is the only way forward.”
“We have many migrants who make a deeply valuable contribution to our country, including in our healthcare system and hospitality sector, and we depend on them to make our country work.
“We do not want this terrible tragedy to be used to divide people or fuel hostility.”
GB News also spoke to a Ukrainian family in Belfast who now plan to move following last night’s violence.
Cars were torched in residential streets, with some residents evacuated from their homes | PA
Yaroslava Navrotska, 19, told The People’s Channel: “They set a house on fire on the opposite side of the street to me. I was here with my dog.
“I heard men screaming and shouting, so I had to escape through my back door with my dog.
“I just ran to my friend’s house because they live nearby but in a safer area.”
The Ukrainian refugee also confirmed she will temporarily stay at a friend’s house in a safer area while she hears from her landlord about relocating.