Irish Examiner view: The anonymity of teenagers appearing in court may be coming to an end

Few people would agree that young people should be able to vote from the age of 16 but should not be identified as a killer if convicted

There are sound reasons to protect the identity of young perpetrators — they are children, often with mental health issues, sometimes from chaotic backgrounds — but there is decreasing public patience with these arguments. Picture: iStock

The depressing scenes of riot and affray in England which filled TV screens and social media for several nights after what have become known as the Taylor Swift dance class murders reveal fast-opening fissures in society, to which we are not immune here. Now, south Belfast can be added to the list of locations where violence has flared.

Depressingly, a cafe and a supermarket were attacked in what has been represented as violence against the Muslim community. There were also demonstrations at hotels used for asylum seekers. Tricolours were among the union flags at an anti-Islamic march which was joined by a delegation, said to be from Coolock, scene of anti-immigrant protests.

There have been more than 100 arrests across Britain in the first major crisis for the new Labour government, less than a month after freshly appointed lord chancellor Shabana Mahmood announced plans to release thousands of prisoners from jails to prevent “paralysis” in the criminal justice system and a “total breakdown of law and order”. Now it is planning to keep courts open overnight to deliver swift retribution to transgressors.

There is no connection between Islam and the dreadful events in Southport which have provided the lodestone for this unrest. But the unravelling of the social fabric is founded in unease which is easily fanned by misinformation. Agitators find willing listeners among those who believe ruling elites are dismissive of their concerns over mass migration and lax border controls.

In Dublin last November, the stabbing of children in Parnell Square led to riots. The identity of the suspect, an Algerian-born naturalised citizen who is now awaiting trial, went quickly into circulation ahead of any official statement. This provided fertile ground into which protest organisers could cast their seeds.

Lack of political trust is now implicit in Western democracies and this poses serious issues for long-established legal protocols and policies which were created in a slower, less hysterical, world. It is clear that international rules for asylum and protection, in place in various forms for over 70 years, are unlikely to prevail for another two decades. But other cherished, and more local, conventions are also looking time-worn. Among those is the belief, enshrined in the 2001 Children Act, foundation of our juvenile justice system, that offenders under the age of 18 benefit from anonymity.

The law was tested, and upheld, recently when 10 people were convicted and fined following the circulation of images and details of Boy A and Boy B in the case of the killing of 14-year-old Ana Kriegel. The boys are the youngest convicted murderers in the history of the State.

While there are sound reasons to protect the identity of young perpetrators — they are children, often with mental health issues, sometimes from chaotic backgrounds — there is decreasing public patience with these arguments. In the case of Southport, such anonymity created a black hole into which fake news flowed. For that reason, the judge at Liverpool Crown Court on Thursday allowed reporting restrictions to be lifted and named Axel Muganwa Rudakubana, 17, as the person charged with three counts of murder and 10 counts of attempted murder.

Judge Andrew Menary said continuing to prevent full reporting on Rudakubana, who is 18 this week, “has the disadvantage of allowing others to spread misinformation, in a vacuum”. Such decisions remain rare. The riots in Britain and the North, as with those last year in Dublin, rely in part on a failure of authorities to command the narrative with swift, accurate information. In its absence, conspiracy theories propagate. 

Reducing the voting age to 16 was in British Labour’s manifesto and both Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin and Fine Gael senator Regina Doherty have made encouraging noises about opening the debate here. But you would be hard pushed to find citizens agreeing with the proposition that you can vote at 16, but not be identified as a killer.

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Middle East teetering on a precipice 

Even by the dangerous standards of contemporary Middle East history, we are teetering on a precipice as the cycle of attack, counterattack, and retaliation between Israel, Iran, Hamas, and Hezbollah ratchets ever upwards.

Tánaiste and Foreign Affairs Minister Micheál Martin has urged Irish citizens in Lebanon to get commercial flights out. The British government has advised its citizens to evacuate the country immediately. The US embassy in Beirut asked its nationals to leave “on any ticket available”. France has made a similar entreaty and, while it is still operating flights, other airlines have grounded their services to the region.

This leaves the considerable matter of more than 350 Irish troops of the 124th Infantry Battalion stationed with UN peacekeeping forces at three sites. 

Lebanon has been a posting for a long time for our soldiers with Unifil and they are continuing to fulfil their duties in the teeth of the deteriorating situation. Restraint depends on the forbearance of Jerusalem and Tehran. However, intelligence briefings from Washington and Israel suggest attacks may take place early this week.

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Intel job losses 

While Irish staff await the details of the impact of cost-cutting at the US chip-making giant, US president Joe Biden might be considering whether his generous backing of Intel may rebound to the political detriment of the Democrat campaign for the White House.

In March, he granted Intel almost $20bn (€18.3bn) in grants and loans to finance factories in Ohio, Arizona, and New Mexico, in a deal Mr Biden promised would “transform the country”. 

Intel employs nearly 5,000 people in Ireland, with bases in Leixlip and Shannon, but its plan to recapture its international markets will take more time than it has available, on current performances. Hence the new pressure for economies from its chief executive Pat Gelsinger. 

We, and Kamala Harris, are banking on improvement.