Unionists under fire for quitting community talks

BELFAST’S top police commander last night hit back at unionists who have quit community partnerships over the street violence raging across the city.

As loyalist protesters threatened traffic chaos, Assistant Chief Constable Duncan McCausland challenged political representatives to lay off his officers and help end the disorder.

“There is some evidence of others working hard to help end it, however all we are hearing from some quarters is abdication of responsibility and accusations of blame. This is unhelpful and inaccurate,” he said.

Mr McCausland’s appeal came amid heightened tensions in the city following a week of vicious rioting.

As a 36-year-old man was charged with attempted murder and possession of firearms and explosives linked to the violence, bogus police officers phoned shops, offices and schools, warning them to close due to the threat of trouble.

Rush-hour chaos was also threatened as crowds blocked off main roads.

The stand-offs developed between police and demonstrators angered at the handling of a week of violence since an Orange Order parade was re-routed.

Minor clashes were reported at Sandy Row in south Belfast.

Ulster Unionist leader Reg Empey urged protesters to get off the roads and let their representatives negotiate for them.

“Allow the politicians to pursue the agenda of getting improvements to these areas, getting peace to these areas,” he said.

“Government is not going to focus on that while this disorder continues.”

Earlier, unionists came under fire for boycotting the city’s District Policing Partnership in fury at security force tactics.

Members on the forum announced the tactic after another night of mob violence, when water canons were used to drive back petrol bombers.

Unionists said after pulling out that police chiefs had been intransigent and claimed the relationship with the community had broken down.

But Mr McCausland insisted: “I am disappointed that some feel they must disengage from District Policing Partnerships. I can give my commitment to local communities that my officers will continue to engage with these forums to help make communities safer.”

SDLP leader Mark Durkan claimed the terror organisations who fired 115 shots at police during the rioting sit on a Parades Forum alongside the Ulster Unionists and Democratic Unionists. “Clearly the UUP and DUP prefer to work with gunmen than the police,” the Foyle MP said.

Naomi Long, an Alliance Party representative on the policing forum, said: “I’m absolutely dumbfounded by the lack of leadership and integrity we are seeing within unionism in the face of some of the most serious rioting and disorder we have seen in recent days.”