Belfast stabbing latest: Homes and cars set ablaze as protesters accused of ‘thuggery’ after knife attack
In pictures: Police respond to disorder sweeping BelfastPolice officers take cover from protestors on Sandy Row on June 9 (Getty)Police vehicles come under attack from protesters late on Tuesday (AP)James Reynolds10 June 2026 04:00First minister condemns protests as 'disgusting cowardice'First minister Michelle O’Neill took to social media late on Tuesday to condemn the violent protests sweeping Northern Ireland as nothing but “disgusting cowardice”.“This has nothing to do with community. This is outright thuggery,” she said, appealing for calm.“The attack in North Belfast was heinous and wrong. But there are dangerous attempts to exploit that to target and attack innocent people who are simply trying to live, work and raise their families here.”James Reynolds10 June 2026 03:30Full report: Calls for calm after ‘sickening’ Belfast knife attack leaves man with significant injuriesSir Keir Starmer and police have called for calm after a stabbing attack condemned as “sickening” by the prime minister sent shockwaves through Belfast.Officers have declared a critical incident in response to the attack, which took place on Monday night on Kinnaird Avenue, a residential part of the city.Horrifying video circulating online, which is too graphic to publish in full, appears to show a man with a knife pinning another man down on the ground and repeatedly stabbing him.James Reynolds10 June 2026 03:00Violent protests diverting police resources away from where they are most needed, says justice ministerNorthern Ireland’s Justice Minister Naomi Long denounced those causing “wanton damage” on the streets as hundreds came out in protest on Tuesday.She said: “There is no place for masked thugs to take to the streets and threaten, intimidate, disrupt and cause wanton damage – it is simply disingenuous to claim this is being carried out for the good of Northern Ireland.”She added: “Disorder on the streets, such as we are seeing tonight, is diverting valuable police resources away from those who genuinely need them.“These are not the actions of people who genuinely care about their communities.”Justice Minister Naomi Long (L) (PA Wire)James Reynolds10 June 2026 02:30In pictures: Firefighters bring blaze under control on Ligoniel RoadFirefighters attend a house which caught fire on Ligoniel Road (PA)Disorder spread across Belfast as a man was charged in connection with a stabbing on Monday (PA)James Reynolds10 June 2026 01:30Hero bystanders who intervened in Belfast knife attack praised as ‘best of humanity’A man has since been charged with attempted murder by Northern Ireland Police, and will appear at Belfast Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.James Reynolds10 June 2026 01:00Politicians must address the immigration 'debate', says former first ministerAlso speaking to BBC Newsnight, Baroness Foster, former DUP first minister of Northern Ireland, said politicians must address the “debate” around immigration. “The Chief Constable is absolutely right when he says it's not for him to answer questions about immigration,” she said. “It's for the politicians to answer questions about immigration. And that's where the debate has to take place.”“The debate has take place by politicians and not through police officers who are trying to deal with what happened yesterday and what is happening today on our streets,” she argued.James Reynolds10 June 2026 00:45In pictures: Lendrick Street at the height of Tuesday's protests in BelfastVehicles set on fire by protesters on Lendrick Street in Belfast (PA)Vehicles set on fire by protesters on Lendrick Street in Belfast (PA)James Reynolds10 June 2026 00:30Violence across Belfast is a 'race-based pogrom', says Labour MPClaire Hanna, SDLP leader and Belfast MP, told BBC Newsnight that the violence seen across the city on Tuesday amounted to 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,” she said.“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.”Pressed on whether she ‘knows’ whether migrant families were being targeted, she says: “Well I don't know what else you can call it because they have been going, I've seen videos of going door to door in areas yes that are likely to be people from minority ethnic backgrounds ...”Also speaking to BBC Newsnight, Baroness Foster, former DUP first minister of Northern Ireland, adds: “Those who are engaged in this violence must understand that not only is it wrong but if they are genuinely concerned ... about untrammeled immigration, then this is entirely counterproductive.She went on to say that politicians must address the “debate” around immigration. “The Chief Constable is absolutely right when he says it's not for him to answer questions about immigration,” she said. “It's for the politicians to answer questions about immigration. And that's where the debate has to take place.”James Reynolds10 June 2026 00:15Northern Ireland Secretary denounces 'thuggery' putting 'lives at risk'Northern Ireland Secretary Hillary Benn says he understands people are “shocked” by Monday’s attack - but condemns “thuggery” on the streets that, he says, is “putting innocent lives at risk”.Writing on social media in post shared by the prime minister, he says: “People have been rightly shocked by the brutal attack in north Belfast, but the police must be allowed to do their job so the law can take its course.“The scenes of disorder we have witnessed in some parts of Northern Ireland this evening are only damaging communities and putting innocent lives at risk. There is no justification at all for this type of thuggery. I echo the call from the PSNI for this violence to end now.”James Reynolds10 June 2026 00:00
