Chaos in Belfast: Councillor claims rioters ‘do not speak for anyone’

Belfast City Councillor Carl Whyte says the chaos unfolding in Belfast is being carried out by a “small minority” who are “not speaking for anybody”. ​Protests broke out following a vicious knife attack in the Northern Ireland capital. ​A man was pinned down in the street before being stabbed, suffering wounds to his eyes, his back, and his face. ​A Sudanese man who was granted permission to stay in the UK in 2023 has now been arrested and charged with attempted murder. ​“There is a debate to be had about immigration policy here, that is true,” Mr Whyte told Sky News Australia. ​“The way to have that debate is not to go out onto the streets and burn buses, burn public transport, burn people’s cars and burn their homes, and that is what has happened tonight. ​“There are arsonists on the streets of Belfast this evening, and they are not speaking for anybody; they do not represent anybody. They are a small minority.”