Disorder in Ballymena

Lord Caine Excerpts

Wednesday 11th June 2025 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Lord Caine]

To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the disorder in Ballymena.

[Baroness in Waiting/Government Whip (Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent) (Lab)]

My Lords, the recent scenes of civil disorder that we have seen in Ballymena have no place in Northern Ireland. The attacks on police officers as they work to keep people safe, and on property, are wholly unacceptable. I express my sincere thanks to the PSNI, the Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service and the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service, which have worked in difficult conditions over the past few days to keep people safe. My thoughts and prayers are with those officers still receiving treatment and with the communities across Northern Ireland who woke up this morning very scared.

[Lord Caine (Con)]

My Lords, I am very grateful to the noble Baroness. We too condemn unreservedly the appalling acts of racist thuggery in Ballymena, for which there can be not a single shred of justification. There is nothing remotely British about wrapping oneself in the union flag and attacking migrants, forcing people from their homes and scapegoating entire communities anywhere in the United Kingdom.

Like the noble Baroness, I commend the bravery and resolve of the Police Service of Northern Ireland and the other emergency services, which have our unstinting support. Our thoughts are with the more than 30 officers who have been injured.

Can the noble Baroness tell the House what conversations the Secretary of State has had with the Justice Minister over levels of support for the PSNI, and what contingencies are in place for additional resources should the violence be sustained over a period or spread elsewhere? One of the most effective deterrents is for offenders to be dealt with quickly and effectively through the courts. Given that we still have some cases pending from the disorder last summer, what conversations are taking place about the need significantly to speed up the operation of the criminal justice system in Northern Ireland?

[Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)]

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord for his comments, especially about our incredibly brave security and police personnel, who have been running towards danger, as many of us have watched on television over the last 48 hours. The noble Lord raises an appropriate point about conversations between the Secretary of State and the Northern Ireland Executive and Assembly to make sure that the appropriate support is in place. Noble Lords may be aware that Jon Boutcher is in the process of submitting a request to the National Police Coordination Centre for mutual aid to support current policing operations. The Secretary of State is having active conversations with both the Minister of Justice and the PSNI, and hopes to visit Ballymena in the coming days.