Mayor blames Derry violence on PSNI

Petrol bombers who unleashed a wave of violence in Derry as European Election polling ended were provoked by a heavy police presence, the city’s mayor claimed today.

Up to 50 devices and 16 paint bombs were thrown at security forces and electoral workers during rioting.

One man was set alight in the disturbances but members of the public managed to extinguish the flames.

Derry’s newly-elected Sinn Féin mayor Gerry O’hEara condemned last night’s disturbances, which he said had become like a ritual in the city during election time.

Mr O’hEara claimed: “I think we have to look at the need for the amount of PSNI people about these polling stations because in my opinion the need doesn’t exist any more.

“There’s no threat to staff and I think young people attack the PSNI jeeps when they see them.”

Electoral officers and ballot boxes had to be escorted from polling stations in the Shantallow and Ballymagroarty districts of the city when they were attacked.

Petrol bombs were also thrown in the Creagan area at police officers as they removed boxes from polling stations.

In another incident an electoral officer was showered with glass when a voting centre in the Carnhill area was attacked.

Even though police officers were deployed at less than half of polling stations across Northern Ireland due to resource pressures, security and electoral chiefs had decided a presence was needed in the city after violence flared during last November’s elections to the Stormont Assembly.

But Mr O’hEara insisted private security firms should instead be brought in to normalise the election process.

“Everybody who works in the electoral office knows part of the problem is the high profile PSNI presence,” he told BBC Radio Ulster.