Executive statement on violence and unrest

The Executive has condemned the violence over recent days and has called for calm to be restored to our streets, and an end to violent protests.

At a special meeting this morning, Ministers were updated on the situation over the last few days by the Chief Constable and have issued the following statement:

We are gravely concerned by the scenes we have all witnessed on our streets over the last week, including those at the Lanark Way interface last night. Attacks on police officers, public services and communities are deplorable and they must stop.

Destruction, violence and the threat of violence are completely unacceptable and unjustifiable, no matter what concerns may exist in communities.

Those who would seek to use and abuse our children and young people to carry out these attacks have no place in our society.

While our political positions are very different on many issues, we are all united in our support for law and order and we collectively state our support for policing and for the police officers who have been putting themselves in harm’s way to protect others.

We, and our departments, will continue to work together to maximise the support we can give to communities and the PSNI to prevent further violence and unrest.

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