Northern Ireland secretary condemns Belfast riots as ‘racist thuggery’ after 12 police officers injured – UK politics live

‘If you are targeting people on the basis of the colour of their skin how else can you describe them?’ said Hilary BennFull report: Police use water cannon against rioters in Northern IrelandTell us: how have you been affected by the situation in Belfast?The Home Office has released more information about the increase in immigration enforcement activity in Northern Ireland mentioned by Hilary Benn in his interview this morning. (See 10.52am.)It says the number of immigration enforcement raids to detain and remove illegal migrants in Northern Ireland has “increased by 16% (from 2,312 during the last 21 months of the previous government, compared to 2,682 under this government).”The home secretary is investing £3.7bn into immigration enforcement activity over the next 3 years including in Northern Ireland. Investment into enforcement will increase by over 20% by 28/29.This will see a surge in intelligence-led operations lead by immigration enforcement and Border Force along CTA [common travel area] routes to detect, track down, arrest and remove illegal migrants. Nearly 1,000 illegal migrants have been removed in the last year alone.Despite a small real terms increase in Scottish government funding for 2026/27, councils still face major risks to their financial sustainability as funding fails to keep pace with rising demand and increasing costs.Of notable concern, the ‘critical financial pressures’ facing our health and social care partnerships, and real terms reductions in the capital settlement justify and strengthen support for the resourcing Cosla called for through our budget lobbying this year. The report quite rightly expresses grave concern for local government finance over the medium term, spanning from the Scottish spending review. [We] will continue to advocate for fair and flexible funding for our councils moving forward. Continue reading...