UMVA has learned that a wave of protests swept through Belfast, culminating in the setting of a bus ablaze amidst chaos in the Northern Ireland capital.
The unrest escalated after a man was stabbed, and protestors, brandishing banners with slogans like 'no racism, just patriotism', 'enough is enough', and 'end two-tier policing, end two-tier justice', began chanting inflammatory phrases.
Their voices rose in unison as they shouted 'secure our borders, mass deportation', 'stop the boats, send them home', and 'Keir Starmer's a w*'. A counter-group, holding 'Stand Up To Racism' placards, stood in opposition along the pavement.
A Glider bus was set on fire by protesters on the Newtownards Road in east Belfast, as a group called the South London Patriots, some donning a Chelsea Mason Mount strip, drank beer and carried a poster, claiming they wanted 'their country back'.
Answering a call to action, they were met by a line of police officers, with minor scuffles breaking out by 8:30 pm. They shouted 'traitor' and 'we love you Henry' in tribute to Henry Nowak, who was stabbed to death in Southampton.
The protestors, numbering around 100, were a small but vocal group, while a separate gathering in Parliament Square saw men shouting for police officers to 'take the knee' and chanting that they 'wanted their country back'.
The suspect, a Sudanese national in his 30s, who had entered the UK via the Irish border after flying from Paris to Dublin, remains in custody.
