B

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Lab)

Speaking in the House of Lords on 11 June 2025

Debate

Disorder in Ballymena

Contribution

My Lords, in supporting the request made by the noble Baroness, Lady O’Loan, we are well aware of the political situation in the Northern Ireland Executive. In view of that, can my noble friend talk to her friend the Secretary of State to ensure that ring-fenced funding for the PSNI is considered and that there is an uplift equivalent to that for police forces in England and Wales? I deplore the thuggery and the racist violence we have seen in Ballymena over the last two days, where there were attacks on the Police Service of Northern Ireland and on ethnic minorities. It was similar to what happened when I was Minister in DSD, back in 2009, when we had to take action to protect people. Will my noble friend join me in urging local political leaders in Ballymena, and further afield in Northern Ireland, to take and show the path of real leadership, and to seek not to explain the context for the violence but to urge the rioters to stop rioting and get off the streets? Will they ensure protection for local communities, including those from ethnic minorities, and for the police service in Ballymena?

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