“Our most important duty is to keep the public safe”: Benn announces £4m to support PSNI following public disorder
The UK Government has today announced a £4 million financial intervention in response to last week’s public disorder.
The UK Government has today announced a £4 million financial intervention to support the Police Service of Northern Ireland following the recent wave of public disorder and racially motivated violence.
Last week’s serious public disorder, which followed the heinous attack in North Belfast, has caused a significant amount of fear, alarm, and disruption across all communities.
Ethnic minority households were then targeted in racially motivated violence.
This emergency funding will help with the costs incurred by the PSNI during the disorder, including the cost of the Mutual Aid support and overtime paid to police officers throughout the disorder.
The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland is today in Northern Ireland where he is meeting with the police and other emergency responders, community groups, volunteers and youth organisations, including those involved in responding to last week’s events.
Speaking ahead of his engagements, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Hilary Benn, said:
The horrific knife attack in North Belfast last week understandably caused profound concern and anger across Northern Ireland, and the rest of the UK. But we must be clear that the shocking scenes of racist violence that the world witnessed on our streets was not only unacceptable, but utterly shameful.
The masked thugs who took part do not represent the vast majority of people across Northern Ireland who have worked long and hard to build a shared, peaceful future for all.
There is no excuse and no justification for this violence, and those responsible will continue to face the full force of the law
Our most important duty as Government is to keep the public safe. This £4 million package demonstrates our commitment to supporting the PSNI given the significant challenges they faced in confronting the disorder in order to protect the community.