How a Belfast knife attack led to violent protest | Global News Podcast

Hello, and welcome to the Global News. podcast from the BBC. I'm Charlotte. Gallagher, and today we're speaking to. our UK political correspondent, Rob. Watson. Rob, there have been violent. anti-immigration protests in the city of. Belfast after a Sudanese man was charged. with attempted murder after a horrific. knife attack. Now, Rob, firstly, can you. tell us more about that attack and what. we know about that man? >> So, it happened on Monday evening in. Belfast and it really is just utterly.

grim and you know, anyone who's thinking. of looking at this footage, Charlotte, be very careful. Be very careful before. you look at it because, you know, what. it shows is a man who actually has now. been charged with attacking someone and. attacking their head, attacking their. neck. with a knife until [snorts]. the person is sort of battered off by. some local residents. What do we know. about him? Well, he's 30 years old. He's. a He's a Sudanese and he came to Britain.

in 2023. Came to to Northern Ireland. from 2023. Took a bus from Ireland, the. Republic of Ireland, and he got to Ireland from France. Now, interestingly, in 2023, he was granted. refugee status. In other words, he came. He was an asylum seeker. He passed that, if you like, and he was. given leave to remain in in Britain for. 5 years. >> Now, Rob, masked men have been on the. streets of Belfast. There was a bus that. was set on fire and also, reportedly,

some of these people were targeting. homes they believed immigrants lived in. And one local politician called it a. race-based pogrom. >> It is ugly scenes. I mean, scenes not. really seen. since the decades of troubles and and. it's exactly as you describe it. I mean, parts of Belfast look they were like it. was a like a war zone. But that said, I. mean, it's attacking property and I. guess most disturbingly, these reports of gangs going knocking on. doors and trying to find out who who.

wasn't white or who didn't speak English. properly. And you know, it seems that. there are sort of three driving factors. behind all of this, Charlotte. I mean, one is you know, just the sheer graphic. nature of that video. And I don't think. anyone who's seen it, the video of the. original attack, failed to be, you know, angry, worried, horrified. You know, and. if you put that together with with young. people, you get all of that anger. The. second thing that's been going on, according to the authorities, is that. there's been online incitement from some.

people from far away from Belfast, people on on the right who are trying to. incite violence. And then the third. thing, and this is in in a way is a bit. of a legacy of the long history of. trouble in Northern Ireland, is that it. appears that those groups that that the. sort of young masked men carrying out. these attacks were the kind of people. that the authorities said used to be in. Protestant paramilitaries that used to, in the times of the troubles, attack. Catholics. Now, they've become more like. sort of traditional far-right groups in.

Europe and therefore more likely to. tackle immigrants. But I think that's. the mix of what's driving this. >> And this obviously comes off the back of. the protests about the murder of Henry. Novak in England. Do you feel that tensions now are. escalating throughout the UK? >> Well, I think what they have in common. is just the power of these videos, right? I mean, it. anyone who's seen either video, either. of the attack in Belfast or of this.

white man who who who died while he was. sort of being arrested by the police and. turned out he'd he'd been the victim of. an attack. He hadn't been someone who. had been carrying out a racially. motivated attack as as had been been. claimed. I think it's just the sort of. power of these videos. You can't sort of. unsee them. I mean, that's that's the. sort of modern era we live in. You just. can't unsee these things and they, you. know, they make people scared, they make. people angry, they make some people. horrified, they make some people just. want to retreat into their homes and.

others to take action. But, I think you. you know, one has to be really careful. to to sort of distinguish several things. here. I mean, number one, you know, is. it absolutely true that there is. profound concern, Charlotte, amongst an. awful lot of British people about, you know, social cohesion, immigration, how do we all get along in a. multi-racial society, how do we enjoy. ensure rights for ethnic minorities, but. also make sure that the white majority. doesn't somehow feel it's being hard. done by. You have to distinguish between.

that and people who would be prepared to. take violent action, like the action we. saw in Belfast or actually some of the. action that that followed this incident. last week. And you do have to distinguish between. those and again, I see further out that. you have to be careful not to. not to underestimate the former. You. know, there is genuine concern about. immigration and social cohesion. Polling. suggests, you know, that it's even it's. even more important for some people than. the economy. and not overestimate that second group,

the people who would, you know, be. willing to take violent action. >> We've had the US Vice President J.D. Vance saying that the murder of Henry. Novak was essentially down to. immigration. We've also had Elon Musk. He's been calling for protests in. Belfast and also to stricter immigration. controls. Why is the UK and immigration. into the UK of such interest to them? >> Well, you know, one can only go on what. it is that they themselves have said and. said in in some detail and that is a a.

theory and they're not alone in sharing. this theory that somehow Europe is. facing a kind of civilizational decline. I think it's that the kind of phrase. they use, Charlotte, and and that is. that, you know, Britain and other European countries. have had levels of mass immigration from. particularly they would see from Muslim. countries cuz I think that particular. concern is how you integrate large. Muslim populations into Western. countries and that that threatens to. undermine. the the Europe that they that they would.

say that they recognize and which of. course in the case of Britain they would. say led to the birth of the United. States and of course. that concern amongst those American high. profile politicians and and tech boss. that you mentioned it is also shared of. course by some. right groups across Europe who think. that somehow you know there is a. civilizational challenge to European. countries like Britain from high levels. of immigration and particularly high. levels of immigration from Muslim parts. of the world and you know.

one can you know one can only assume. that that's that's what they say and and. that's what that's their theory. >> What does the UK government do now to. get a handle on this situation do you. think? >> Well what the UK government is doing is. is doing what it did after previous. riots. If you remember. in the summer of 2024 so just after. labor was elected with that massive. majority there were riots involving. protests outside asylum seeker hotels. And essentially what the government said.

is we are going to really come down on. you you are going to come down on you. like a ton of bricks you will get swift. justice you will face the full force of. the law and that's exactly what is being. said now in Belfast and in London a. warning to rioters look you know there's. no whatever happened with that attack. nothing justifies the levels of violence. we've seen and we will come after you. and of course that. I think the view is that the government. is it's understandable that it would say. that and that it should combine that. with calls for calm. I mean clearly the.

thing that the government has to be. careful of and it needs to be aware of. is that it doesn't sort of sound as. though in promising a tough line on. demonstrators and on violence that it. isn't somehow underestimating the sort. of genuine non-violent concern that. there is out there about immigration and. social cohesion. And indeed, one of the. things that of course the the populist. right leader Nigel Farage from Reform. has been saying to Keir Starmer, the. Prime Minister, is look, you know, you.

seem to be so much more worried about. George Floyd, a. man who was who was killed by a police. in the Midwest of the United States, than you are by an incident like the. knifing in Belfast on on Monday night. So, that's the sort of charge that the. government and to be fair, other. mainstream political parties need to be. aware of to somehow get that balance. right. >> Do you feel they understand the. government, the public concerns about. immigration or some people's concerns. about immigration?

>> I I mean, I think they must do because, you know, the the opinion polling could. not be clearer. I think the numbers are. something like 60-odd percent of people. are worried about social cohesion and. blame that in part on high levels of. immigration. So, there's there's there's. no doubt, I don't think, that the. government is is fully aware of that. I. mean, the question is more. what do you do about it? And and and the. government is split. I mean, there's a. part of the of the Labour Party, which. is traditionally a left-of-center party,

and which has traditionally managed to. get very high levels of support from. ethnic minorities. I mean, that has. always happened ever since really the. the Second World War and since we had. mass immigration. They. by and large always tended to support. Labour. So, it's sort of torn between. not wanting to upset, perfectly. understandably, the the kind of. minorities that have always voted for. Labour, and also not wanting to somehow, you know, encourage an atmosphere in. this country where, you know, if you're. not white, you're somehow.

not not welcome, not not valued. So, balancing that between knowing that an. awful lot of other voters not just for. the Labour Party but for other parties. are genuinely concerned about. immigration and I guess if you zoom out. a bit more Charlotte and this is not. just Britain that faces this country. this question it's lots of other. countries and it goes back to that. really you know the big obvious question. which is how do we all get along right I. mean how do we all get along in in big. complex countries like Britain where you.

have large populations that multi-racial. multinational multi cultural multi. religious multi ethnic how do you find a. way where we we sort of all get along we. all feel like we belong that we feel. that you know that there are there is. control of the borders that people are. concerned about immigration their. concerns are met while not somehow. alienating populations are already here. >> Thanks Rob. That was our UK political. correspondent Rob Watson and this has. been the global news podcast. If you'd. like to hear more please click the link.

below. Thanks for watching.