Northern Ireland Assembly recalled to discuss violent disorder in Belfast

PSNI officers man roadblocks in Belfast following an anti-Islamic protest outside Belfast City Hall on August 3 (PA)

Stormont MLAs are set to return from summer recess for an Assembly sitting to discuss recent scenes of violent disorder on the streets of Belfast.

Executive ministers will gather in the morning at Stormont Castle before the Northern Ireland Assembly sitting at noon.

The Irish Congress of Trade Unions is set to lead a rally outside Parliament Buildings in opposition to the rioting seen in the capital on Saturday, Monday and Tuesday evenings following anti-immigration protests.

Abdelkader Mohamad Al Alloush, owner of the Sham Supermarket on Donegall Road in Belfast, after it was burned on Saturday night and attacked again on Monday (Rebecca Black/PA)

Police and members of the public have been attacked and two businesses owned by people from a minority ethnic background have been destroyed.

It comes amid widespread disorder across Britain which appears to have been sparked by misinformation spread online following the fatal stabbing of three girls in Southport.

A senior Police Service of Northern Ireland officer earlier this week said a paramilitary element is suspected of co-ordinating violence in Belfast.

On Monday, four men linked to disorder on Saturday appeared at Belfast Magistrates’ Court, while a 15-year-old boy appeared before the same court on Wednesday charged with rioting.

All were remanded.

Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn and parliamentary under-secretary of state Fleur Anderson speak to media at a community centre in Belfast on Wednesday (Rebecca Black/PA)

On Wednesday, Britain's secretary of state for Northern Ireland Hilary Benn condemned “racist violence” in Belfast in recent days and stressed that it “does not represent Northern Ireland”.

He said it should be a cause of shame that some people currently do not feel safe in their own homes, and urged those behind the disorder to stop.

MLAs will debate a motion condemning “criminal damage and targeting of businesses in recent days”.

The motion also calls on First Minister Michelle O’Neill and deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly to finalise the draft Refugee Integration Strategy and associated delivery plan, to bring forward the renewed Race Relations Order, and set out the process of replacing the Racial Equality Strategy 2015/25 by the end of 2024.