Elon Musk condemned for effort to ‘whip up unrest’ in UK after Belfast knife attack
Elon Musk has been accused of trying to “whip up unrest” in the UK in the wake of the Belfast knife attack.
A 30-year-old Sudanese man who was granted a five-year visa to remain the in UK in 2023 has been charged with attempted murder and is due to appear in court later today.
Violence erupted on the streets of Belfast on Tuesday night, while immigrant families were burned out of their homes.
Politicians have condemned the “outright thuggery” and appealed for calm.
Prime minister Keir Starmer said: “The scenes in Belfast last night were shocking and completely unacceptable.
“There is no justification for the violence and disorder that we saw threatening our communities, nor for those who encouraged it, online or elsewhere.
“It is clear that people were targeted last night because of their background and I will not tolerate it. Those responsible will feel the full force of the law.”
Musk shared lists on X of locations where protests could take place and retweeted Restore Britain leader Rupert Lowe’s post saying “Millions must go” with a screengrab of footage of the knife attack. [Continue reading…]
[Naomi] Long, the minister of justice of Northern Ireland and leader of the Alliance party, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that “bad faith actors” had incited racism in the city. “The first thing to say is all of us were absolutely horrified and terrified in the wake of the brutal attack that took place in Belfast,” she said. “I understand that tensions are high and people are frightened and angry in some cases about what happened.”
“What distresses and disturbs me is there are those that prior to yesterday would have struggled to find Belfast on a map, who are online, who are sharing incitement and encouragement for people and weaponising the fear that people genuinely have about what happened to try and turn this into some kind of anti-immigration issue or a racist protest.”
She added: “Ultimately if you’re driving people from their homes based on the colour of their skin, you can’t dress that up any other way – it’s racism.” [Continue reading…]
James O’Brien reacts to Belfast riots: