PSNI appeals for calm, amid fears protests planned in response to knife attack could lead to disorder
Henderson also appealed for calm at the press conference. He said:
double quotation markWe’re also aware of calls this evening for protest activity across Northern Ireland, and continue to monitor that situation accordingly.
I understand that last night’s attempted murder will leave people feeling a range of emotions from fear to anger.
Our officers have a role to facilitate and accommodate peaceful protest.
But Henderson also said the police did not want to see a repeat of the sort of disorder seen on previous occasions.
double quotation markNo one needs to see a repeat of this. This only causes damage to the community, and unfortunately, young people often get caught up in that disorder, so I appeal for calm and the safety of all of our communities in response to this.
All of our focus must be on a criminal justice investigation.
Key events
Rhun ap Iorwerth says Plaid will work with Greens to stop Wales being last nation in Britain allowing no-fault evictions
Rhun ap Iorwerth, the Welsh first minister, has said the country is “lagging behind” England on protections for renters, who are still at risk of no fault evictions.
Speaking at first minister’s questions in Cardiff, ap Iorwerth said he hoped to work alongside the Welsh Greens to increase protections for tenants in Wales.
The Renters Rights Act came into force in May and ended the power for landlords to turf out tenants without a legal reason in England.
Wales is now the only nation in Great Britain where private landlords have the power to evict tenants without giving a reason.
At FMQs Anthony Slaughter, the leader of the Welsh Greens, said:
double quotation markIn your manifesto you promised to protect renters – what is the government’s plan to move at pace to end no fault evictions and stop rents escalating through bidding wars?
Ap Iorwerth said:
double quotation markIt is the truth now that we are lagging behind England when it comes to protection for renters, and that’s something that we will move at pace to put right.
He said Plaid Cymru wanted to work “in partnership” with the Greens on this.
Updated at 11.17 EDT
Rupert Lowe, the Restore Britain MP, says he has tabled a Commons early day motion demanding the release of information about the immigration history, religion, and asylum record of the suspect in the Belfast stabbing.
And Zia Yusuf, the Reform UK home affairs spokesperson, says his party has already announced a ban on giving visas to people from Sudan.
ShareBadenoch accused of ‘not being honest’ about impact of axing public sector equality duty
Here is some more response to Kemi Badenoch’s pledge this morning to get rid of the public sector equality duty.
This is from Andrea Egan, general secretary of Unison, the largest public sector union.
double quotation markOur rights and equalities protections are there to defend ordinary working class people – those who run our public services and rely on them.
The Tories and Reform want to roll it all back to divide and exploit us.
We won’t let them.
This is from Akiko Hart, director of the human rights campaign group Liberty.
double quotation markThe UK’s human rights laws underpin our daily lives by protecting us from discrimination because of who we are, who we love, or what we believe in.
Those calling to weaken or scrap important safeguards like the public sector equality duty, a vital part of the Equality Act, are not being honest with the public about what they stand to lose. The duty allows everyone the opportunity to fully participate in society, and not be held back just because of who they are. It means that you don’t lose out at work, at school, or elsewhere just because you are disabled, pregnant or a woman. The duty is an essential safety net which not only compels public bodies to respect our rights, but also enables us to seek justice when they get things wrong.
And this is from MEND (Muslim Engagement and Development), a group that encourages Muslims to be more active in public life. It says:
double quotation markKemi Badenoch says the Equality Act should be “a shield to protect you from discrimination, not a sword for social engineering.” But the duty she wants to scrap is exactly what makes that shield work. It requires public bodies to consider who their decisions might harm before they act. Remove the duty and you take the shield away.
This is also a remarkable reversal from Badenoch, who in December 2023 when minister for women and equalities, wrote to every public authority instructing them to comply with this very duty, and stated that there is no hierarchy of rights because every person holds a protected characteristic. Either she was wrong then, or she is being opportunistic now.
The duty imposes no quotas and dictates no outcomes. It simply requires public bodies to think about who might be left behind. It is why a council must weigh the impact on an elderly resident before scrapping the bus route she depends on. It is the duty the Home Office was found to have breached over Windrush in 2020 – and the one the High Court used to quash an unlawful Windrush decision in 2024, twice holding Badenoch’s own party to account.
Strip it away and every community – Muslims, disabled people, older people, women and others – is left exposed to institutional bias that no public body is required even to consider. When the powerful are freed from the duty to think before they act, it is always the quietest voices who pay first.
ShareNorthern Ireland party leaders release joint statement condemning Belfast knife attack
The leaders of all the main parties in Northern Ireland have released a joint statement about the Belfast knife attack. They say:
double quotation markAs leaders of Northern Ireland’s main political parties, we are united in our condemnation of the horrific incident in North Belfast last night.
There is no place in our society for this kind of brutality. Our immediate thoughts are with the victim and his family, and we hope he makes a full and complete recovery.
Our thoughts are also with those eyewitnesses to the incident, as well as those brave members of the public who intervened.
We recognise the distress and fear this incident will cause within the local community. We urge people not to share the deeply disturbing images or videos, as their graphic nature would only serve to retraumatise those involved.
We support the Police Service of Northern Ireland in their ongoing investigation and urge anyone with information, or relevant footage, to assist them. It is essential that the facts are established through proper investigation and due process.
We are committed to ensuring that violence and hatred in any form will not be allowed to divide our communities. We call for calm and for space to allow justice to take its course.
The statement is signed by Michelle O’Neill from Sinn Féin, Naomi Long from the Alliance party, Gavin Robinson from the DUP, Jon Burrows from the UUP and Claire Hanna from the SDLP.
SharePSNI appeals for calm, amid fears protests planned in response to knife attack could lead to disorder
Henderson also appealed for calm at the press conference. He said:
double quotation markWe’re also aware of calls this evening for protest activity across Northern Ireland, and continue to monitor that situation accordingly.
I understand that last night’s attempted murder will leave people feeling a range of emotions from fear to anger.
Our officers have a role to facilitate and accommodate peaceful protest.
But Henderson also said the police did not want to see a repeat of the sort of disorder seen on previous occasions.
double quotation markNo one needs to see a repeat of this. This only causes damage to the community, and unfortunately, young people often get caught up in that disorder, so I appeal for calm and the safety of all of our communities in response to this.
All of our focus must be on a criminal justice investigation.
SharePSNI says it understands knife suspect had been given leave to remain in UK
Henderson said he thought the knife attack suspect had been given leave to remain in the UK after arriving via Dublin. He said:
double quotation markMy understanding is that the individual came into Northern Ireland from Dublin, moving up, and then was granted leave to remain.
He said the Home Office “will be confirming that in more detail in due course”.
At the press conference Ryan Henderson, the PSNI’s assistant chief constable, said the victim of the knife attack in Belfast suffered significant injuries to his eyes and serious slash wounds to his back and face after being attacked with a kitchen knife.
As the Press Association reports, Henderson said detectives arrested a man, now thought to be Sudanese and aged in his 30s, on suspicion of attempted murder, and are not looking for anyone else. He said:
double quotation markI share the public revulsion over the brutal nature of this attack, which has created concern not only here in Northern Ireland, but much further afield, and I understand also that there will be questions regarding the nature of the attack.
Updated at 09.54 EDT
PSNI says no evidence to suggest Belfast knife attack terror-related
Henderson told reporters at the PSNI press conference that that there was no evidence of a terrorist aspect to last night’s knife attack. He said:
double quotation markThroughout today we’ve been liaising senior counterterrorism partners.
At this stage, we have no information to suggest that this was a terrorist-related incident.
However, I must stress, I must stress, we are still at the early stages of our investigation.
SharePSNI says Sudanese suspect in Belfast knife attacked entered UK from Dublin
The Sudanese suspect in a knife attack in Belfast entered the UK from Dublin in the Republic of Ireland, the Police Service of Northern Ireland said.
The information came out as Ryan Henderson, the PSNI’s assistant chief constable, held a press conference.
I will post more details from it shortly.
ShareReform UK would lead ‘most pro-women government in British history’, Suella Braverman claims
Reform UK issued its response to Kemi Badenoch’s speech last night, on the basis of the CCHQ advance briefing. It came in the form of a statement from Suella Braverman, the former Tory home secretary who is now Reform’s equalities spokesperson. She claimed Nigel Farage would led “the most pro-woman government in British history”.
She said:
double quotation markThe Tories are offering a sticking plaster when the whole rotten system needs replacing. Scrapping one duty [the public sector equality duty] while leaving the rest of Blair’s identity politics framework untouched will do nothing to restore common sense, protect women’s rights, or end the culture of state-sponsored discrimination.
Only Reform UK is prepared to replace this failed model out at the root. We will restore equality before the law, protect single-sex spaces, uphold biological reality, and ensure women and girls are never again forced to surrender their rights to ideological dogma.
A Reform government will be the most pro-women government in British history. We will strengthen maternity protections, defend female-only spaces, protect women’s sport, tackle violence against women and girls, and put the interests of ordinary women back at the heart of public policy.
This is quite a claim. And if Farage really does intend to lead the most pro-women government in Britain, he has been remarkably bad at making this case to the nation’s women. As this recent British Social Attitudes report says, there is a 9-point gap between the proportion of women backing the party (19%) and the proportion of men who back it (28%). Among under-35s, the gap is even bigger – at 13 points.
The gender gap is even larger than it was at the time of the Brexit referendum in 2016, when Farage’s leave side had a 5-point lead with men, and even larger than at the 2024 election, when Reform UK had a 6-point lead with men.
The gender bias in the Reform UK vote may be linked to the fact that women are poorly represented at the top of the party. In 2024, when five Reform UK MPs were elected, 0% of them were women. The equivalent figure for the Conservatives was 24%, for the Lib Dems 44% and for Labour 46%. There are now eight Reform UK MPs, and two of them are women, meaning they are now on a par with the Tories.
Updated at 09.33 EDT
TUC accuses Badenoch of wanting to ‘legalise discrimination’ with her Equality Act overhaul
The TUC has accused Kemi Badenoch of wanting to “legalise discrimination”.
In a statement responding to her speech this morning. about getting rid of the public sector equality duty, Paul Nowak, the TUC general secretary, said:
double quotation markMake no mistake – Kemi Badenoch wants to legalise discrimination.
This proposal would give a future Tory government a free hand to harm your life chances if you’re a woman, gay, black, disabled, or working class.
The Conservatives’ austerity policies tore apart the social fabric of this country, pitting communities against one another. Now, they want to double down, sowing seeds of division between working people once again.
Working people are sick and tired of this kind of politics. We need to tear down the structural barriers holding communities back, not the handful of laws protecting them.
Updated at 09.32 EDT
White House urges UK not to ban social media for under-16s
The White House has urged the UK not to impose a social media ban for under-16s, saying such restrictions could impose a “disproportionate” burden on US tech firms, Dan Milmo reports.
Richard Tice (Reform UK) asked Benn if he would return to the Commons later today to give a further statement about the suspect.
Benn said he would report to MPs “in an appropriate form as soon as I am able to do so”.
Shockat Adam (Ind) asked Benn if he agreed “crime and heroes come in all different hues and colours”. Benn said all MPs should appeal for calm.
ShareBenn says Belfast attack should not lead to members from accused’s community being attacked
Ayoub Khan (Ind) asked Benn if he agreed “we must not let the heinous actions of one person be taken as an opportunity to taint an entire community”.
Benn said he agreed. He went on:
double quotation markWhen I think back to those who were attacked in the wake of the terrible events in Southport and then in Ballymena, we know that in Northern Ireland certain individuals were attacked who had nothing to do with any of this simply because of the colour of their skin. And that is not what this country is about.
Identify an attacker, due process in due course after investigation.
Do not cast aspersions on a whole community. Many people from all backgrounds bring so much to our national life.
Carla Lockhart (DUP) said people in Northern Ireland were very concerned about uncontrolled immigration. She asked how many people there were in Northern Ireland of the same nationality as the accused.
Benn said the facts would be provided in due course once they were checked.
Lee Anderson (Reform UK) asked if the accused entered the UK as an asylum seeker?
Benn said, until he had had that confirmed, he could not say. But the PSNI was leading on this, he said.