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Anti-immigration demonstration took place in Belfast in response to Monday night’s stabbing attack in the city
Jane Dalton & James C. ReynoldsWednesday 10 June 2026 01:30 BST- Bookmark
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Close popoverGlider Bus Set On Fire As Protests Continue In Belfast Original Video M295905
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Homes and cars were set alight across Belfast on Tuesday evening after hundreds of protesters took to the streets in response to Monday night’s stabbing attack in the city.
Residents had to be removed from burning houses in east Belfast as a crowd kicked in doors and broke windows of homes nearby, according to the BBC.
Prior to the protests, police said a man, 30, who is Sudanese, had been charged with attempted murder over the stabbing attack. He is due to appear at Belfast Magistrates’ Court later on Wednesday.
Despite calls for calm from police and political leaders, anti-immigration demonstrations in Belfast turned violent on Tuesday night.
A Glider bus was set alight in east Belfast, prompting all bus and train services to be suspended. In Lendrick Street in Belfast, several cars were set alight and Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service officers had to remove some residents from houses after they caught fire.
A number of houses and vehicles were set on fire near the Ligoniel Road area of Belfast and a police car was set alight in Portadown.
Northern Ireland secretary Hillary Benn said people were “rightly shocked” by the attacked, but condemned “thuggery” that he said was “putting innocent lives at risk”.
Key points
- Northern Ireland secretary denounces 'thuggery' putting 'lives at risk'
- In pictures: Demonstrations turn violent
- Where were the protests taking place across the UK
- Man charged with attempted murder over knife attack
- Prime minister condemns 'sickening' and 'abhorrent' attack
In pictures: Firefighters bring blaze under control on Ligoniel Road
Firefighters 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’
Members of the public who intervened in a stabbing attack in Belfast have been praised as “the very best of humanity”.
Footage on social media shows people, including one with a hurling stick, attempting to stop a man while he was attacking his victim in the residential area close to the busy Antrim Road in north Belfast on Monday night.
A man has since been charged with attempted murder by Northern Ireland Police, and will appear at Belfast Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.
Hero bystanders who intervened in Belfast knife attack praised as ‘best of humanity’
Footage shows members of the public pulling the attacker away from his victim before police arrivedJames Reynolds10 June 2026 01:00Politicians must address the immigration 'debate', says former first minister
Also 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 Belfast
Vehicles 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 MP
Claire 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 00:00Violence sweeping Northern Ireland is "wrong" and "counter-productive", says former first minister
Arlene Foster, the former first minister of Northern Ireland, told Sky News the violence sweeping Belfast was “not only wrong” but “counter-productive”.
“The people that are causing this violence have a lot of responsibility on their shoulders,” she said.
James Reynolds9 June 2026 23:30Turkish barber shop attacked in Ballyclare
A Turkish barber shop in Ballyclare, north of Belfast, has also been attacked, according to the BBC.
Images carried by the broadcaster show the front door and a window smashed.
James Reynolds9 June 2026 23:18Mapped: Protests reported across the UK
James Reynolds9 June 2026 22:59Protests break out across the UK
Earlier, The Independent reported on a wave of protests in the Belfast area, affecting Newtownards Rd, Whiteabbey, Freedom Corner, and traffic on the M2 near Yorkgate.
Police and ambulances are also responding on Crumlin Road, and homes have caught fire on Lendrick Street.
A police car was also reported to have been set on fire in Portadown, southwest of Belfast.
Now, protests are reported to have broken out in other parts of the UK.
Police were deployed in Southampton after demonstrators gathered outside the Highfield House Hotel.
And in Scotland, protesters gathered in Glasgow city centre and St Andrew’s Square in Edinburgh.
James Reynolds9 June 2026 22:54Newer1 / 5Older