Police urged to clamp down on 'vigilante' street patrols after assault probe launched
Liam Tunney and Andrew Madden, Belfast Telegraph, August 11th, 2025
GROWING NUMBER OF INCIDENTS HAVE BEEN POSTED ONLINE IN RECENT MONTHS
The PSNI has been urged to “clamp down” on vigilante patrols “running rampant” on the streets of Northern Ireland after a series of online videos has shown ethnic minorities and homeless people being targeted.
In one video, a man is heard telling one foreign national that “anyone that is on these streets at night time, they will be asked what the f*** they're doing”.
Human rights charity Participation and the Practice of Rights (PPR) has contacted the PSNI, the Department of Justice and the NI Housing Executive to voice concerns about the footage, which has appeared across a network of social media accounts, showing foreign nationals and homeless people being quizzed about their background and their reason for being in the area.
Many of the videos are overlaid with captions suggesting the groups are “policing” their own parts of the city.
In one of the clips, a content creator, when asked by another member of the public to keep the noise down, sinisterly responds: “Be thankful it's only noise.”
A further video, which appears to have been filmed from a car, focuses on a number of women wearing hijabs as they play in a Belfast park. One of the women featured is wearing a niqab and pushing a pram.
Footage also shows a man being knocked off his electric scooter before being questioned about his presence in the area.
The online accounts sharing the clips also contain footage from a series of protests outside hotels in Northern Ireland, with a focus on interactions between protesters and police.
One clip posted last month even appears to show a homeless individual being assaulted close to Laganside Courthouse in the city centre.
The disturbing footage depicts two people walking towards another individual, before knocking them to the ground and repeatedly punching them.
Sleeping bag thrown in River Lagan
The culprits then appear to walk away carrying a sleeping bag belonging to the victim which is subsequently thrown into the River Lagan.
The victim was taken to hospital following the incident which is being investigated by the PSNI.
A spokesperson said: “Police received a report of an assault on a man in the Oxford Street area of south Belfast on Tuesday, July 22. Enquiries are ongoing and anyone who may have witnessed the assault is asked to contact police on 101 quoting reference 135 22/07/25.”
PSNI Inspector Carey said police were aware of the increasing number of online posts relating to the street patrols.
“We are also aware of a number of videos circulating on social media,” Inspector Carey added.
“The PSNI does not tolerate any type of vigilante activity and we would caution any individual or group against taking the law into their own hands.
“It is our responsibility to enforce the law in NI — we are here to protect everyone throughout our communities.
“If you have information about any sort of crime in your area please contact the non-emergency number 101.
“Alternatively, information can also be provided to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 which is 100% anonymous and gives people the power to speak up and stop crime.”
CAJ report on vigilanteeism
Earlier this year, the Committee on the Administration of Justice (CAJ) published a report mapping far-right online activity in NI.
The report's author, Dessie Ó Donnghaile of Rabble Cooperative, said the growth of such groups would depend on how the authorities respond.
“There's a definite overlap between the anti-immigrant movement, if you can even call it that, and some of these vigilante groups,” he told the Belfast Telegraph.
“Then there's also a lot of anti-immigrant rhetoric online at a community level, like the constant barrage of these warnings about incidents in parks, and things like that. These patrol groups sprung up seemingly in their narrative in reaction to these kind of incidents.
“These accounts would have hundreds, sometimes maybe a couple of thousand followers, online.
“But whenever they post their activities online, it does seem to be led by a handful of people, which it seems to be a deliberate attempt to kind of localise some of this anti-immigrant sentiment.
“I think they went through a period of trying to do mass mobilisations, particularly in the Belfast city centre, which didn't really work out. The counter-protests dwarfed them every time. Now there seems to be a shift.
“I think a lot of it depends on the response of the authorities to the attacks, because there have been attacks against people. And also this constant kind of going up and interrogating people in parks who aren't white.
“I think it's concerning how normalised and acceptable this behaviour becomes. Do we allow these people to basically run rampant in parks, intimidating people, or will they be clamped down on?”
Deeply concerned
Concerns have also been raised by Chloe Trew, the director of Participation and the Practice of Rights (PPR).
She said the network was “deeply concerned” to see threats and violence being organised and orchestrated against street homeless people.
“Homeless people are simply trying keep their heads above water in a daily struggle against destitution,” she said.
“To witness innocent people being beaten by masked men on our streets, who are acting as judge and jury on the basis of inaccurate, biased and racist assumptions, is a worrying development in a wider climate of racism and hate.
“Our public bodies have a duty to ensure people are protected and that everyone has somewhere safe to live. Homeless families are not responsible for our housing crisis, which is a result of years of political failure, underinvestment and the large-scale sell-off of social homes, a practice which continues to this day.”
PSNI Action Plan
The news comes after the PSNI launched its Race and Ethnicity Action Plan, which has been in development since 2024 after anti-immigration-fuelled disorder broke out in NI and elsewhere in the UK. It includes five commitments for the PSNI to be an anti-racist police service, ensuring people from an ethnic minority background feel safe, valued by and engaged in policing, and that police respect and are trusted by people from ethnic minority communities.
The plan outlines various steps to stamp out racial and ethnic disparities in policing and includes details of enhanced training programmes and policy reforms.
PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher said: “We recognise the importance of listening to all communities and working together to build a policing service that truly reflects the diversity of the society we serve.
“Recent events have demonstrated the need for decisive action and clear leadership to stamp out racism which clearly exists in communities in NI.
“We are confident this action plan will drive the work of the police service and help us to work more effectively with ethnic minority communities and partners.
“The Race and Ethnicity Action Plan aligns with PSNI's broader equality, diversity and inclusivity and our work through our Policing with the Community vision, ensuring that tangible actions to address race and ethnicity are embedded across all areas of policing.
“PSNI is committed to regular updates on the progress of the plan and to continuing open dialogue with ethnic minority communities to ensure it meets their needs.”
Vigilante groups ‘targeting migrants’
Conor Coyle, Irish News, August 11th, 2025
VIGILANTE groups patrolling streets and public spaces in east Belfast nightly while targeting migrants is “greatly concerning”, a member of the Policing Board has said.
The issue is to be raised with Chief Constable Jon Boutcher.
Videos posted to social media show more than a dozen men patrolling areas in the east of the city.
They are stopping and questioning foreign nationals on their behaviour while asking for proof of their right to live in the north.
Some videos have also shown children taking part.
A member of the Policing Board and MLA for the area said he will raise the issue with the chief constable at the “earliest opportunity”.
‘No hanging about east Belfast, you have no reason to be there’
One video posted online of a man approaching another man in a public park says the group represents “concerned parents” in the area.
Another video sees the poster telling a Syrian man “no more hanging about east Belfast, you have no reason to be there”.
In another encounter on the street, a migrant is told “too many of you are running around here and you’re stealing. There are women that are scared to leave their houses”.
Other videos make reference to there being “too many undocumented men” living in the area and comment on a lack of social housing due to the number of migrants that have moved in.
A social media page uploading videos of the confrontations claims to have set up a “rapid response team” to attend reports of suspicious behaviour within five minutes.
Footage from a social media video which purports to show a group patrolling the streets of east Belfast. The PSNI says it “does not tolerate any type of vigilante activity”
Vigilanteism condemned
Alliance East Belfast MLA and Policing Board spokesperson Peter McReynolds said it was “greatly concerning”.
“There is absolutely no place for vigilantism in our society, or anyone taking the law into their own hands,” Mr McReynolds said.
“Reports of intimidation and harassment are greatly concerning. It’s never acceptable, and we must be unequivocal as a community in condemning such actions.
“I have been engaging with the PSNI about these matters as they have developed and will be raising it at the earliest opportunity with the chief constable at the Policing Board.”
The patrols come after two summers of violence in the north sparked by anti-migration protests which saw the businesses and homes of immigrants attacked and disorder on the streets of Belfast, Ballymena and other areas.
New figures this week reported by The Detail show that almost half of those arrested in connection with race-related disorder that broke out in Belfast last summer had previously been reported to police for domestic abuse.
The PSNI says it is aware of videos circulating on social media and that it “does not tolerate any type of vigilante activity”.
It added it “would caution any individual or group against taking the law into their own hands”.
“It is the responsibility of the police service to enforce the law in Northern Ireland and we are committed to supporting the needs of all of our diverse communities.
“We will robustly review and deal with any offences reported to us.”
A spokesperson for the Department of Justice said “a range of measures are in place to support vulnerable groups from threatening and violent behaviour”.
“The minister has always been very clear there is no place for hate in any part of our society,” the spokesperson said.
“The Department of Justice, together with the Northern Ireland Policing Board, provides annual funding to Policing and Community Safety Partnerships to address local community safety issues, including hate crime, in each of the council areas.
“In addition, the Department of Justice jointly fund the Hate Crime Advocacy Service with the PSNI, to assist reporting of hate incidents to the police and provide support to victims throughout the investigative/criminal justice system process.
“If any individual suspects that a crime has been committed, I would encourage them to report it to the PSNI.”
Co Antrim family shaken after house attacked and cars set alight in hate crime
Claire Williamson, Belfast Telegraph, August 11th, 2025
Police are treating an arson attack in Newtownabbey where windows were also smashed at a nearby house as a racially-motivated hate crime.
Officers are appealing for information following a report of two cars on fire in the East Way area shortly before 10.50pm on Saturday evening.
Glass in a window and door of a nearby house was smashed and there was graffiti on the front of the house.
A man, a woman and three young children who were inside the house at the time were left shaken by the ordeal. Inspector Brown said: “Officers attended, along with colleagues from the Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service, who extinguished the blaze. Significant damage has been caused to both cars.
“It was further reported that glass in a window and door of a nearby house had been smashed and that there was graffiti on the front of the house.
“Thankfully, no serious injuries have been reported by the family who were inside the house at the time— a man, a woman and three young children — although they have been left shaken by the ordeal.
“Our enquiries are ongoing, and at this time, we are treating this as arson with a racially-motivated hate element.
“We are appealing to anyone who might have any information which may assist us, to get in touch.
'I'm telling survivors' stories': artist's return visit to Sri Lanka focus of Belfast exhibition
Lauren Scates, Belfast Telegraph, August 11th, 2025
An artist who left Sri Lanka more than 30 years ago, during the height of its civil conflict, and forged a new life in Northern Ireland is exhibiting her work in Belfast.
Anushiya Sundaralingam will bring a powerful new exhibition to Queen Street Studios this week.
Her project, Fragmented Crossings, will reflect her own story and the experiences of others.
Anushiya recently travelled back to Sri Lanka, and the exhibition captures her return home through sculpture, print and drawings.
An island country in South Asia, Sri Lanka is known for its tea production and cricket, but was torn apart by a bloody civil war which raged for 26 years until 2009. It divided the country along ethnic lines, pitting the majority-Buddhist, Sinhalese-dominated government against Tamil rebels, who wanted a separate state.
The fighting killed an estimated 100,000 people and left about 20,000, mostly Tamils, missing.
Originally from Jaffna in the country's north, Anushiya left in 1989 aged just 22. She has lived in Northern Ireland since 1995, graduating in fine and applied arts from Ulster University in 1998.
Like many who fled, Anushiya left behind not just a homeland but also the possibility of a quick return: Jaffna remained inaccessible for years due to heavy military operations and widespread destruction.
When she could return in the mid-1990s, it was under dangerous circumstances, travelling by boat through conflict zones.
“I heard that my grandma was ill, so I wanted to go and see her,” she explained.
“I went and I took my son, who was three and a half at the time, and then met somebody in Colombo [the capital], because I'm from the north of Sri Lanka, so it was hard to get to at that time.”
A difficult return
Due to the lack of proper roads, the journey was difficult.
“I went in on a plane and then train and then bus and coaches and mini vans. Then you had to walk from one checkpoint to another checkpoint, and then you had to pay somebody to cycle another mile, or two or three.
“My work is more focused about the journey, but I picked only one particular thing: the experience on the boat.”
Anushiya recalled the destruction she found on her return: “Everything was bombed — there was no safe way back. We didn't know if we would make it.
“At the checkpoints, both army and [Tamil] Tigers searched us. And when we got on the boat, we had to walk into the sea silently — no talking — because the navy was nearby and could shell us. There was so much fear.”
The emotional weight of that return became a focus for the artist's work.
When she returned to Sri Lanka again this year for a three-week residency, the fear resurfaced — but in a different form.
“There was grief, anxiety, even guilt. Walking through places shaped by conflict stirred feelings I hadn't felt in years,” she explained.
“I was returning to my home, [but] I didn't feel at home there any more.”
Her journey took her from Colombo to Jaffna, through homes and care centres shaped by the legacy of war, where she met children impacted by generational trauma and others who had lived through the conflict firsthand.
“It wasn't just a return, it was a full‑circle experience. I stood again on the same soil I left three decades ago,” she explained.
“I revisited family homes, connected with local artists and discovered pieces of myself I thought I had buried.”
Anushiya also had the opportunity to retrace parts of her childhood, revisiting family and friends, her old school, former classmates and temples.
For survivors everywhere
Her exhibition chronicles her work to date: “The boats became a symbol of leaving, but also of return. The sea is both a boundary and a bridge.
“I'm still carrying the same questions in my work that I had 30 years ago, only now I can see how they've evolved. I thought I had moved on, but I'm still creating work with the same theme. It's all still there — those memories, those movements.”
As she launches her exhibition in Belfast, Anushiya hopes people connect with her experience.
“It's not just my story. It's happening all over the world,” she said.
“I'm telling the survivors' stories. Look at the war in Ukraine... This isn't just for me but it's for them too.
“I still feel like a refugee. Even now, people ask me here and in Sri Lanka: 'Where are you from?' And I'm not sure how to answer. I think we just adapt. My work has become a way of processing that.”
Anushiya visited her homeland this year through the British Council's Connections Through Culture Grants.
Jonathan Stewart, director of the British Council Northern Ireland, said: “We are proud to support Anushiya as she continues to create meaningful art that resonates across cultures and invites reflection and healing.”
Fragmented Crossings opens at Queen Street Studios on August 14 and will run until September 18
Kenova report: Adams refused to meet dying father of IRA disappeared victim
Connla Young, Crime and security Correspondent, Irish News, August 11th, 2025
Eugene Simons was shot dead in January 1981 and his body lay secretly buried in Louth, undiscovered until May 1984
FORMER Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams refused to meet the dying father of a man believed to have been shot dead by the Provisional IRA, a new report into British agent Stakeknife has claimed.
Details of the approach have emerged in a private report recently provided to the family of Eugene Simons by Operation Kenova.
Mr Simons, a father of three, was one of ‘The Disappeared’ – a group of people abducted, killed and secretly buried by the IRA.
Originally from the Castlewellan area of Co Down, the 26-year-old was taken by the IRA in January 1981.
His remains were accidentally discovered buried in a bog near Dundalk, Co Louth, in May 1984, by a man walking a dog.
The recent report reveals that former Operation Kenova head Jon Boutcher, now PSNI chief constable, spoke with Mr Adams in February 2019.
During the meeting Mr Adams, who was a Louth TD at the time, was asked to consider meeting the dead man’s father, Walter Simons, who had terminal cancer, “from a humanitarian perspective”.
The request, in February 2019, was rejected.
Mr Simons died several months later in July, aged 93.
The report also states that a previous attempt by Mr Simons to meet the republican leader, who stood down as Sinn Féin president in 2018, was also refused.
The IRA has never claimed responsibility or provided an explanation for why Mr Simons, who was also questioned by the group in 1980, was killed and buried without acknowledgment.
His case is one of dozens examined by Operation Kenova.
It was set up in 2016 to investigate the activities of the British agent known as Stakeknife – identified as Belfast man Freddie Scappaticci in 2003.
A former commander of the IRA’s Internal Security Unit (ISU), Scappaticci has been linked to 14 murders and 15 abductions.
Also known as the ‘Nutting Squad’, the ISU was responsible for hunting down and killing informers during the Troubles.
In recent weeks Operation Kenova has handed over 25 ‘family reports’ to people impacted by Stakeknife.
Kenova has confirmed it included the death of Mr Simons in its caseload “due to the role of the agent known as Stakeknife in the interrogation of Eugene in August 1980 and the planning of his abduction/ murder on New Year’s Day 1981”.
The recent report reveals that Mr Boutcher, and a former senior investigating officer, met with the ex-Sinn Féin leader.
Former Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams. Below, Walter Simons, left, and, right, Eugene Simons
“Mr Adams was asked to consider whether, from a humanitarian perspective, he would consider meeting with Walter Simons who was suffering from terminal cancer and had been mourning the death of his son since the early ’80’s,” the report states.
“It was explained that Walter was a very proud individual who had worked throughout his life; but since the disappearance and murder of his son he had been seeking an understanding of the circumstances.”
The report reveals that Mr Adams was asked to meet Mr Simons.
Boutcher appealed to Adams
“Mr Boutcher appealed to Mr Adams to give some explanation as to what happened to Walter’s son or even, if the republican movement could see it within themselves to give an apology,” the report said.
“Gerry Adams asked where Eugene was from.
“Mr Boutcher explained the brief facts of Eugene’s disappearance and the discovery of his body some years later.
“At the conclusion of the discussion Gerry Adams stated that he had no intention of seeing Walter Simons under any circumstances.”
The report also reveals that Mr Simons was previously advised to contact Mr Adams, who was also a former MP for West Belfast, around a decade after his son was killed.
“PIRA never claimed responsibility for Eugene’s murder,” the report confirms.
“Witness 2 from West Belfast contacted Walter about ten years after the murder of Eugene and asked him to go and see Gerry Adams.
“However, a message apparently came back from Adams that he, Adams, was too busy in West Belfast to be bothered about what was happening in Armagh (or words to that effect).”
Criticism of RUC
The Kenova report reveals that Walter Simons felt “the RUC didn’t make much of an effort with their enquiries into Eugene’s disappearance” after it was reported.
“As a result, he made his own inquiries including approaching Suspect D in bars to ask them directly what had happened to Eugene,” the report said.
“Walter was met with silence.” The Operation Kenova report has also confirmed that authorities in the south of Ireland have lost Mr Simons’s skull, which was recovered from the Co Louth bog when his remains were found more than 40 years ago.
A Sinn Féin source said Gerry Adams held an initial meeting with Jon Boutcher on February 4 2019.
Among the cases mentioned was that of Eugene Simons.
“At the end of the meeting it was agreed Mr Boutcher would formally write to Mr Adams, through his solicitor, setting out the matters he wanted to raise.
“A letter was subsequently sent on 15th February. There was no mention of Eugene Simons in the letter.
“Gerry Adams has met the families of other people who were killed by the IRA but he set out in a written submission to Mr Boutcher his position on the Kenova Inquiry.
“Mr Adams supports the right of all victims to the truth but he has no knowledge of the circumstances of Mr Simons’ death.”
US - Blair should stop 'pussy footing around' with Adams after 9/11 attacks
Sam McBride, Belfast Telegraph, August 11th, 2025
FILES REVEAL JFK'S SISTER THOUGHT AMERICANS SHOULD BE TOLD TO STOP SENDING IRA CASH
In the wake of September 11, two US diplomats — one of whom had been close to Gerry Adams — expressed private dismay at how weak Tony Blair's Government was being with Sinn Féin.
Government files declassified at The National Archives in Kew emphasise how the US turned on republicans, with scant sympathy for the IRA's refusal to decommission.
On 16 November 2004, Andrew Pike, the British consul general in New York, said in a letter to Robert Hannigan in the NIO — who would go on to become GCHQ boss — that US envoy Mitchell Reiss had told him he'd been “chastised” by Gerry Adams for his criticisms of Sinn Féin.
The consul general wrote: “Reiss told me he was not about to take lectures from someone who represented what was basically a terrorist organisation. State Department were hearing that Adams was speaking with forked tongue to us and the volunteers about the prospect of a major move forward.
“Why were we letting them away with it? I said that Adams had taken this schizophrenic position in the past, including before the first decommissioning act, but that if the Provisional Army Council bought in they had always, thus far, been able to bring the volunteers with them.”
The British diplomat said Reiss “took a much harder line on Sinn Féin than in his pre-election guise. Indeed, he stressed repeatedly the need for us to be tougher on the party and there was yet another reference to the incomprehensibility of allowing 'Slab' Murphy to perpetuate criminal activity within our sight”.
Jean Kennedy Smith
Far more remarkable was the hostility towards Adams from Jean Kennedy Smith — the sister of John F Kennedy who as US Ambassador to Dublin had grown close to Sinn Féin.
In 1994, Kennedy-Smith had strongly advocated for Gerry Adams to receive a visa to visit the US, being convinced that Adams wanted to steer the IRA away from violence, prompting criticism from opponents of the move.
When Kennedy Smith died in 2020, Adams hailed her as someone “pivotal to the development of the peace process” to whom he'd given both a tree and a puppy.
Kennedy Smith's view of Adams, however, was far colder after September 11.
An extract of a letter from Alastair Horne to Jonathan Powell in May 2003 said: “On a totally different matter, I thought I should perhaps pass on, in confidence, a piece of information that I feel might be of interest, and even some use, to the upper reaches when the PM goes to Washington.
“Recently we had our very old friend, Ambassador Jean Kennedy-Smith to stay. I always try to keep off Ireland, but was quite taken aback when she — with no prompting — came out with the following two remarks:
“1) T Blair should be much tougher with the IRA — and with all paramilitaries. The British should stop 'pussy footing around' with Gerry Adams etc, and the US would support this;
“2) TB should tell Congress, using his enormous current authority there, that Americans should stop sending any money to the IRA.”
The letter went on: “I was quite staggered, knowing how close she was to Gerry Adams, but this seems to be just one more example of how American views have changed so radically since 9/11.
“Although Jean was very explicitly speaking as a private person, she does of course have the constant ear of brother Teddy, whom she telephones at least once a day.
“So I assume these two sentiments would represent him too...it just came to me as quite an eye opener...”
Gaza Protest arrests - ‘Scandalous and double standards’
PSNI criticised after grandmother’s arrest for offence of wearing T-shirt
Conor Sheils, Irish News, August 11th, 2025
A CLERIC cautioned at an anti-racism march in which a 74-year-old grandmother was arrested for wearing a Palestine Action T-shirt has accused the PSNI of double standards.
Marie McNally (74) was carried into the back of a police land rover by officers after attending the demonstration in the centre of Belfast on Saturday.
The west Belfast woman, along with two others, was marked out by police after she was spotted wearing a t-shirt in support of the pro-Palestinian group.
It comes after the British government last month made expressing support for, or being a member of, Palestine Action a criminal offence under terrorism legislation.
Yesterday, more than 500 people were arrested in London for carrying messages in support of the group, while more than 400 were arrested for carrying placards in support of Palestine Action earlier in the weekend.
In Belfast, videos shared online show a woman wearing a Palestine Action t-shirt being told by police officers she was being arrested on suspicion of “possessing an article, namely a sign or T-shirt, that indicates support for Palestine Action”.
Presbyterian minister, the Reverend Bill Shaw, was also cautioned at the event along with another unnamed man for wearing T-shirts in support of the group.
He accused the PSNI of double standards following the incident over an alleged failure to tackle support for proscribed paramilitary groups .
“As several people have pointed out since my caution, you know, people within the loyalist community can display UVF flags, UDA flags. They can march with bands, with paramilitary insignia, all of which are prescribed to organisations, and nothing happens,” he told The Irish News.
“And just look at the situation around bonfires, where in some places they put images and effigies on them in certain places – these are hate crimes in my opinion and it is done with impunity.
“But they target a woman in her 70s for wearing a t-shirt. They throw her in like a slab of meat into the back of a land rover. It’s scandalous.”
Ms McNally is a long-time human rights activist from the Poleglass area who has previously campaigned for the civil rights struggle in the north.
She also travelled to Cairo earlier this year in an attempt to partake in the Global March to Gaza.
The attempt by activists from across the world was later stopped by Egyptian police and participants were forced to return to their home countries.
A PSNI spokesperson said: “A 74-year-old woman arrested on suspicion of possession of an article that indicates support for a proscribed organisation in the Linenhall Street area of Belfast on Saturday, 9th August has been released pending a report to the Public Prosecution Service.
“A 43-year-old man arrested on suspicion of disorderly behaviour has been issued with a Community Resolution Notice.”
Irish-language street signs in Belfast: origins of the '15%' controversy
Andrew Madden, Belfast Telegraph, August 11th, 2025
Around the world, language is revered as a powerful thing, but in Northern Ireland it has another dimension — as a sometimes controversial cultural signifier.
In Belfast, this unique phenomenon has been distilled down into something that wouldn't even garner a raised eyebrow in the rest of the UK or Republic of Ireland — the local council's dual-language street sign policy.
It has caused political rows at City Hall and on the airwaves, but when exactly did all this start, and why?
Since 1998, Belfast City Council's (BCC) dual-language signage policy has allowed for any individual to apply for the erection of such signage, as long as the application is accompanied by a petition signed by at least a third of registered electors on the street in question.
A subsequent consultation would then be carried out, and if two-thirds of residents support the move, the application could then be approved by the council.
There were some caveats to this, such as that consideration would be given to only putting up the signage on parts of 'long streets' if the majority of opinion differed between certain sections of the street.
In 2012, the council considered amending its policy to reduce the threshold for support for the signage from two-thirds to a simple majority. This proposal, among a few others, was rejected and the existing policy remained in place.
This all changed significantly when a new policy was introduced in 2022, following a vote by the full council. The new policy was supported by Sinn Fein, the SDLP, Alliance, the Green Party and People Before Profit. The DUP, UUP and PUP voted against it.
The new policy reduced the threshold from two-thirds to 15%. This followed a report in 2017 by the UN Special Rapporteur on minority issues, which concluded that public authorities cannot require majority support for a minority language.
In terms of where the 15% figure came from, guidance from the Special Rapporteur noted that the “threshold where it is reasonable and practical to provide such signs varies between 5% and 20% of the local population”.
The policy proposals that were agreed were developed by council officers “in close consultation with the city solicitor and director of Legal and Civic Services”.
Under the changes, either an individual on a street, a developer or a councillor in the District Electoral Area could request a dual-language sign. In a consultation of residents, a non-reply would no longer be considered to be against an application.
A report would also be provided to BCC's People and Communities Committee, who would have to approve the request, after which the application would have to be approved by the full council.
It is important to note that, ultimately, the council has the power to reject applications, regardless of how much support they have. The council has to take into account several factors when deciding on dual-language signage, including “consideration of the local context” and the potential impact on good relations.
According to a 2021 council report, the council's powers means it can “take into account the specific circumstances” of each application when making its decision.
The report adds: “The exercise of the committee's residual discretion will ensure that second-language street signs will not be erected in a manner which could undermine good relations at a neighbourhood level.”
Furthermore, any council decision can be 'called in' if 15% of councillors feel the decision was not properly considered or that it would disproportionately, adversely impact a section of the district. If a call-in is submitted, a second legal opinion must be obtained. If the legal opinion finds the decision should be reconsidered, it must be voted on again and requires a qualified majority of at least 80% of councillors to vote in favour of the original decision.
This new policy has proven hugely controversial and has seen a significant increase in the number of dual-language (Irish/English) sign applications being approved. Since it came into force, 228 such applications have been signed off, compared to 226 over the entire 24-year lifespan of the previously stricter policy.
Critics say it is undemocratic, while supporters say it is fairer for residents who want the minority language to be promoted and protected.
One of the latest City Hall rows on this topic happened in March, when applications for the erection of dual-language signage on four streets in Belfast were approved. While all four applications met the required 15% threshold, they also had greater numbers opposing them.
Previously, there was a convention that, if more residents were against the signage than were in support, the application in question would essentially be deferred indefinitely. This resulted in an uneasy compromise, but in March this convention seemed to break down, with Sinn Fein and the SDLP voting through the applications for the four streets.
The DUP then failed in a last-ditch attempt to block the decision from being ratified at an April meeting of the full council. Speaking in the chamber, the DUP's Ruth Brooks said the threshold for applications has been set so low it “practically trips over democracy”.
She said: “The process has drifted so far from being evidence based, or community led, and so far from democratic integrity, that it is no longer even pretending to be mutual. Consultations are treated like a box-ticking exercise, objections are met with shrugs, silence is spun as consent. And when communities do speak, their voices are folded neatly into the inconvenient pile. And we are told this is progress.”
Sinn Fein's Róis-Máire Donnelly said the council's bilingual street signage policy was developed “in line with international best practice on the visibility of minority languages and received cross-party support”.
“In the main, apart from a very small minority, this has been successful, with hundreds of street signs installed without complaint and with strong support,” she said.
SDLP's Carl Whyte added: “Protecting minority languages is a legal requirement and also means Belfast's linguistic diversity is reflected in our streets and our surroundings.
“Sadly, signs across the city have been vandalised in a seemingly organised campaign of criminal damage, which, of course, is completely pointless: any signs vandalised have and will continue to be repaired by the council.”
Conchúr Ó Muadaigh, spokesperson for Irish-language group Conradh na Gaeilge, said, following the Good Friday Agreement, the UK Government ratified the European Charter for Regional Minority Languages in NI for Irish and Ulster Scots.
“Monitoring experts for the Charter have been consistently critical of local councils who have, over 30 years, set unreasonably restrictive thresholds, usually at 66% of residents,” he said.
“Political unionism's opposition to dual-language street signage is long established, from Brian Faulkner in 1949 right through to the current day here in unionist-dominated councils, where policies remain incredibly restrictive or non-existent.”
Mr Ó Muadaigh noted that the threshold for a decision to be 'called in', which is used by many parties, including the DUP regarding Irish-language signage, is also set at 15%.
As of July 2 this year, 1,110 dual-language sign applications were pending, covering 737 individual streets. Given the track record at the council since the new policy was introduced, as things stand there will be a lot more Irish signs popping up across Belfast — at a lot more rows at City Hall.
Thousands turn out for Apprentice Boys parade in Derry
Belfast Telegraph, August 11th, 2025
The Apprentice Boys of Derry (ABOD) have hailed an “outstanding day of colour and pageant” at the 336th Anniversary of the Relief of Derry.
Thousands of people took part in the annual ABOD parade which saw some 125 bands participate.
The Relief of Derry is one of the biggest loyal order parades in Northern Ireland and marks the anniversary of the ending of the 105-day long Siege of Derry on 1 August 1689 during the Williamite War.
Around 10,000 Apprentice Boys paraded through the city, starting at Craigavon bridge.
The annual celebrations also remember the 13 apprentice boys who closed Derry's gates to keep King James II's forces out in December 1688.
Governor of the Associated Clubs of the Apprentice Boys of Derry William Walker said: “The Association has worked hard to ensure an enjoyable day for all in Londonderry for our Annual Commemorations.
“It has been an outstanding day of colour and pageant, commemoration and celebration. Our thanks to the PSNI, Translink and Council departments we have worked with to bring everything together and for their support in undertaking changes that have improved movement around the city.”
The Belfast republican who preserved role of unionists in city’s story
Chris Donnelly, Irish News, August 11th, 2025
LAST Thursday, my daughter and I were amongst scores of people who turned out in Belfast’s City Cemetery to be guided by Tom Hartley on what would be one of the last tours he would lead as part of the annual Féile an Phobail programme.
The veteran Sinn Féin figure, who turns 80 this year, has been providing guided tours of the two main cemeteries in west Belfast (Milltown being the other) for more than a quarter of a century.
Around 20 years ago, I had taken the tour with my own father back when Tom would ambitiously organise to cover both cemeteries, making for a marathon event.
In the interim, it has become the norm for two separate tours to be organised in parallel throughout the Féile week, with his fellow former Sinn Féin councillor, Stevie Corr, taking up the mantle in recent times in Milltown Cemetery.
Tom’s mastery of the subject is borne out in the encyclopaedic knowledge he effortlessly provides on the background of the occupants of each grave, adding the spice and flavour typical of every great storyteller.
Age has added a philosophical twist to his narrative, and this was apparent throughout what was an immensely enjoyable and engaging tour.
As a party, Sinn Féin has been very well served by Tom Hartley throughout the decades.
Capacity to empathise with people on all sides
Anyone who has spent time with Tom knows he is a deep thinker, and his capacity to empathise with others – including political opponents – and be aware of the perceptions of those outside of the republican community, has doubtlessly well served a Sinn Féin leadership team who would have been mindful of his contributions and opinions at key junctures throughout the peace process and years that followed.
In his capacity as a Sinn Féin elected representative, Hartley served the Falls community for 20 years, during which time he was nominated for and became the party’s second ever mayor of Belfast in 2008.
His time as first citizen of his own city only served to further enhance his reputation across all communities in Belfast, as those from within the broader unionist community became more aware of his extraordinary fascination with the history of a City Cemetery more synonymous with the Protestant and unionist tradition than the republican one of which Hartley was naturally more familiar.
In the Féile an Phobail programme notes advertising his tour, Tom outlines how the purpose is to “remind us of the complex and layered political and cultural identity of 19th century Belfast”, and this is a recurring theme within the cemetery.
There is the case of the leading Orangeman of Belfast whose impressive obelisk grave proudly announces him to be a “loyal Irish patriot”.
Then there are the unionist figures whose intellectual curiosity and open-mindedness ensured they were prominent figures within the Gaelic League in the city, including John St Clair Boyd.
Hartley includes in his tour the many British war graves containing soldiers killed during the two world wars, and his research into the men who lost their lives in World War I in particular has led to him becoming an authority on the conflict and particularly the role of the Irish regiments from north and south.
Secured return of vandalised grave stones
Following the precautionary removal of war grave stones after acts of vandalism, Hartley lobbied successfully for their return, arguing that the vast majority of local residents would support his desire to see the stones being respectfully retained in place.
One of the first graves Hartley visited in the tour is of Fred Crawford, the man responsible for arming the Ulster Volunteers over a century ago.
In his tour narrative, Hartley emphasises the need to incorporate people like Crawford into the Irish story due to his importance within the unionist and loyalist tradition.
To date, Tom Hartley has written four books on the cemeteries of Belfast (including two on the City Cemetery) and he is working on a fifth for 2026.
He will be passing on the baton to someone else who will continue providing an entertaining and informative tour of a cemetery which tells the story of a city in its prime – Hartley describes the Belfast of the late 19th century as a “Silicon Valley”.
The job of his successor will have been made all the easier due to the many years of research and passionate studies conducted by Tom.
But it is the generosity of spirit exemplified by a renowned Belfast Fenian who, in spite of his own personal and communal experiences throughout the conflict, was determined to ensure the survival of the unionist and Protestant history and tradition as represented in the City Cemetery, that will be a remarkable and enduring legacy and testament to Tom Hartley, something that should speak powerfully to people of all traditions today and for the generation to come.
Stormont’s money maze - millions for cycling and active travel spent on road resurfacing
Sam McBride, Belfast Telegraph, August 11th, 2025
CONTRADICTORY AND CONFUSING FUNDING ARRANGEMENTS BLUR THE TRUTH OF WHAT IS REALLY GOING ON
A Stormont department has defended highly complex accounting procedures which make it appear to have spent £1.9m on a series of active travel projects last year, when in fact that never happened.
In March, a Department for Infrastructure (DfI) press release said that minister Liz Kimmins “has announced a £1.9m funding boost to support councils to deliver seven active travel projects”.
Letters detailing how the funding was allocated — which have been obtained by the Belfast Telegraph — contain contradictory wording which appears to do one thing, but in fact does another.
Stormont is under pressure from cycling activists to spend vastly more on active travel, something the department has a legal responsibility to do under the new Climate Act.
That legislation states: “The Department for Infrastructure must develop sectoral plans for transport which set a minimum spend on active travel from the overall transport budgets of 10%.”
However, there have been criticisms of how the department has been interpreting that law.
Money diverted to other projects
Last year DfI admitted to this newspaper that a huge sum which it claimed to be spending on cycling infrastructure were instead being used to resurface a road for lorries and cars.
Much of a £2.6m “active travel scheme” in Ballykelly was spent on upgrading the road for cars, rather than the new cycle lane portion for cyclists.
March's announcement involved DfI grants to local councils for a range of schemes to encourage people out of cars — from work on greenways to ebikes for Belfast.
The letters of offer to each of the councils show that the funding was split over two years: 2024-25 and 2025-26.
In most cases, half the funding was in each financial year — and in every case, the letters stated explicitly that funding couldn't be carried into the following year if unspent.
Yet that's exactly what's being done. The letter of offer to Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council, for instance, in relation to its Valley Park Active Travel Project, stated: “The total amount of grant payable in the Funding Period is £150,000.00. The maximum amount of grant payable for the 2024/25 Financial Year will be up to £150,000.00 and the maximum amount of grant payable for the 2025/26 Financial Year will be £0.00.
Six days to spend millions or lose it
“Any uncommitted or unspent Capital Grant funding either offered or paid will not be carried over into a future Funding Period.”
That made little sense because the letters of offer were sent exceptionally late to all of the councils, arriving just six working days before the end of the financial year in which much of the money supposedly had to be spent.
In the case of Antrim and Newtownabbey, it didn't reply to accept the letter of offer until 31 March — the final day of the financial year. It would have been impossible to spend £150,000 in a matter of hours — especially because the funding rules made clear there had to be a series of processes and approval from DfI.
Yet the letter also said that “50% of project costs must be incurred by 31st March 2025”.
How then could any of this make sense?
What DfI has done is to insert another clause into the complex letters which effectively negates most of these provisions. It says: “Where a commitment has been made in respect of the Approved Relevant Project in a financial year this must be spent within the following financial year”.
In simple terms, that means that money from the financial year which ended on 31 March can be spent right up until that date the following year - which still being counted as last year's spending.
That means that money is effectively sitting in DfI's account for up to a year doing nothing, even though on paper it has already been spent.
Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council confirmed that it has not yet received a penny of the money which its letter of offer says must have largely been spent last year.
However, it expressed no concern about this, saying that it expects the money to be spent by next March.
DfI said: “Councils have a year to drawdown or claim funding into their accounts against the conditions of the letter of offer.
“In accepting the letters of offer, the councils have agreed to remain within the conditions stipulated and provided assurance in this regard. This means councils receive in full the funding of their offer, and councils must also show the department that the money has been spent agreed.”
