Former Northern Ireland secretaries Peter Hain, Peter Mandelson, Paul Murphy and Shaun Woodward and the North’s ex-police chief Huge Orde are calling for “urgent action” and for the UK government “to take interest” in Northern Ireland in a letter addressed to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, as Brexit continues to fuel tensions in the region.
“With our long collective experience we are extremely worried that violent unrest on the streets of loyalist areas and at interfaces is a consequence of politics, both in Stormont and in Whitehall, failing the people of Northern Ireland,” they wrote.
“There is a strong sense within loyalist and unionist communities that no one is listening to them, and that nobody in authority in Whitehall has been honest with them about the consequences of Brexit,” the letter wrote, adding that “the most immediate step is, therefore, for the government, at the highest level, to be seen to take an interest. As a matter of urgency, the governm
Boris Johnson is being warned by four former Northern secretaries as well as the Northâs ex-police chief to âtake an interestâ in the region before loyalist tensions spiral further over the outcome of Brexit.
Former Archbishop of Armagh Robin Eames and Chris Patten, who oversaw reform of policing in the North, have also put their names to a joint plea for London to rebuild âbadly damagedâ relations with Dublin.
In an open letter to the British prime minister they are demanding âurgentâ intervention, adding that Downing Street âmust be honestâ with loyalists and unionists that there is likely no alternative to the Northern Ireland protocol.
Boris Johnson is being warned by four former Northern secretaries as well as the Northâs ex-police chief to âtake an interestâ in the region before loyalist tensions spiral further over the outcome of Brexit.
Former Archbishop of Armagh Robin Eames and Chris Patten, who oversaw reform of policing in the North, have also put their names to a joint plea for London to rebuild âbadly damagedâ relations with Dublin.
In an open letter to the British prime minister they are demanding âurgentâ intervention, adding that Downing Street âmust be honestâ with loyalists and unionists that there is likely no alternative to the Northern Ireland protocol.