THE NORTHERN Executive must not seek additional funding from the British central exchequer to help defray the costs of policing the riots over the Twelfth of July period in Belfast and other parts of Northern Ireland, a senior British government source has warned.
This week, the PSNI Chief Constable Matt Baggott said the cost of trying to maintain order during the various disturbances, particularly at Ardoyne in north Belfast, would run into “millions of pounds”.
The images of the trouble and the failure of the political parties, the Orange Order and nationalist residents’ groups to find an accommodation over the return Orange feeder parade past the Ardoyne shops on the Twelfth of July is known to have caused anger in Downing Street.
Northern Ireland Ministers need not come looking for extra funding to meet the heavy policing bill because they wouldn’t get it, said a senior British government source. He added that if the solution to the problem was rerouting the Orange parade then it should be rerouted.
Meanwhile, the SDLP lord mayor of Belfast Pat Convery has stated that all relevant statutory agencies and community organisations must come together quickly to prevent any repetition of the rioting which left some 90 police officers injured.
“The whole community has been forthright in its condemnation of the rioters and the notable difference from the past is that the condemnation is unanimous. But that cannot be enough. We need to learn the lessons of the last week and we need to learn them quickly, since the next potential trouble point is only weeks away,” he said.
Mr Convery said he had already offered to make his office available to facilitate dialogue between “those who wish to march and those who wish to object or protest”. “I can say that some positive responses are being indicated,” he said.
Some hope of a resolution at Ardoyne was drawn from a rally of hundreds of people who turned out at the Ardoyne shops on Thursday night to voice their opposition to the rioting. While there were still tensions last night there were indications the rioting may be about to peter out, as is often a feature of such situations after a protracted period of trouble.
Sinn Féin junior minister Gerry Kelly, who attended the rally, said the demonstration illustrated how the vast majority of local people were totally opposed to the violence. He repeated that many of the rioters were not even from the area.
SDLP Assembly member Alban Maginness, who also attended the rally, said the demonstration provided some form of hope for the future. “But I don’t want to exaggerate its importance because this terrible problem is not even close to resolution.
The Orange Order and their supporters must engage in meaningful dialogue with local residents to get this sorted,” he said.
A team of 20 PSNI officers, meanwhile, has been formed to try to identify the rioters so that arrests can be made. The team is to examine 100 hours of video footage and 1,000 photographs taken by police during the disturbances.