Belfast protests: youths being ‘led by the nose’ to jail

Northern Ireland‘s Chief Constable Matt Baggott apologised to residents in the east Belfast area of Short Strand for the violence that erupted on Saturday, after a group of loyalist protests were able to break away from the main protest march.

He added that those involved in the rioting should expect a “knock on the door” and said that the people organising the riots were leading young people “by the nose” towards prison.

The regular protests in Northern Ireland began in December in reaction to a decision by Belfast city council to reduce the number of days the union flag is flown. For over a week, many of the protests have become violent, leading to suspicions that paramilitary organisations are behind the rioting.

Twenty-nine police officers were injured on Saturday in east Belfast, and one is still in hospital.

‘Measured’ policing

Chief Constable Baggott denied that police failure had caused the problems on Saturday, when a group of around 200 loyalists broke away from the main protest route and clashed with residents in the nationalist Short Strand area.

He apologised to residents, but said: “Even when the PSNI was 12,000 strong, it would have not have been possible to take such a rigid approach towards protests.” He added that “sweeping protesters” off the street would not have worked.

“Our approach has always been to be measured and responsible – we have simply to put public safety first.” he said.

Police also suspect the protests are being used to mask to other criminal activity, after they seized £200,000 of cocaine on Friday night.

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The press conference came as Belfast traders called a crisis meeting to discuss the downturn caused by the union flag protests.

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) estimated £15m was lost to the economy over Christmas because some people avoided the commercial centre.

Stormont First Minister Peter Robinson and Northern Ireland Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness are due to meet with the British and Irish governments later this week to discuss the protests.