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Stormont First Minister Arlene Foster Credit: PA Wire/PA Images
Northern Ireland’s First Minister has defended her call for the police chief to resign after a decision not to prosecute Sinn Fein politicians over attending a large funeral last year despite Covid restrictions.
Arlene Foster also deflected criticism for not meeting with Chief Constable Simon Byrne when she met with representatives of loyalist paramilitaries just weeks ago.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland recommended prosecutions against deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill and 23 others for alleged breaches of the regulations last year at the funeral of republican Bobby Storey, but the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) announced last week it will not pursue prosecutions.
Ministers in the Stormont Executive have been urged to speak with a united voice in condemning rioting that has erupted in Northern Ireland.
The call from the Police Federation, the body that represents rank and file officers, came ahead of a meeting of the powersharing administration to discuss the escalating public order situation in the region.
The Stormont Assembly is also being recalled from Easter recess for an emergency sitting later on Thursday morning to debate the violence, which has mostly flared in loyalist areas.
PSNI Assistant Chief Constable Jonathan Roberts said 55 police officers have been injured across several nights of disorder in Northern Ireland.
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There have been 21 incidents of disorder across Northern Ireland in recent days.The figure was revealed in a policing board meeting hosted by Chief Constable Simon Byrne, outlining various incidents in the last eight days.UTV understands that members were told that there wasn t just one single cause for the trouble, and that paramilitaries were suspected of involvement in some of it.However, violent scenes over recent nights have also been blamed on Brexit and a local response in the South East Antrim area by what police term “criminal elements” against recent drug raids.
The PSNI on Northland in Carrickfergus near Belfast following sporadic outbursts of disorder Credit: Liam McBurney/PA