Paramilitary groups orchestrated Belfast riots targeting migrants, investigation finds
Riots in Belfast targeting migrants and asylum seekers were orchestrated by paramilitary groups exploiting tensions over immigration, according to a Channel 4 investigation.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
A Channel 4 investigation has found that riots in Belfast in early June, triggered by a viral video of a knife attack, were orchestrated by paramilitary groups exploiting community tensions over immigration. The violence, which saw masked mobs target migrant families, was contained largely to working-class loyalist areas where migrants were known to be living.
The trigger was a video of a black man attacking a white man, which spread quickly online. But according to local sources, the unrest was not spontaneous. "We knew that there was going to be violence coming and that this was orchestrated by wider forces, I would say, paramilitary groups who operate here year after year with complete impunity," one resident said. Leaflets were circulated calling on people to wear masks, disrupt traffic, and turn off doorbell cameras and dashcams.
Children were among those drawn into the violence. One in five of those arrested was a child, the youngest just 12. The Children's Commissioner for Northern Ireland said he had witnessed teenagers being transported into communities they did not live in, describing it as coercion and trafficking. He also said he had received death threats after speaking out against the violence.
One migrant, Kasim (not his real name), who fled Yemen and settled in Belfast with his wife and children, described how a gang of five men tried to smash into his house. He said the attack was not random. "Our country is in danger," he said, but acknowledged that Northern Ireland currently does not feel peaceful for him either.
The investigation also highlighted the hardening of attitudes towards immigration. Polling from More in Common showed that while the vast majority condemned the rioting, immigration was one of the biggest issues across all communities, and the number one concern for unionists. A DUP politician, Brian Kingston, said it was indisputable that immigration is a hot topic, but stressed that grievances did not justify violence. He too had been threatened.
In Portrush, a small anti-immigration protest drew people from outside Northern Ireland, including Sarah White from Essex, who said the country should "fight back" and declined to condemn the violence. The report noted that Northern Ireland, divided for decades along sectarian lines, is now fracturing in different ways, with migrants becoming the new target of intimidation.
Separately, the BBC reported on similar anti-immigration tensions in Glasgow, where violent crime has reached a five-year high and a vigilante group links the city's problems to immigration. Police there warned that misinformation on social media is fuelling community tensions.
On screen
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Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, mapped by channel. Ordered by how many channels carried each claim.
| Claim | BBC One | Channel 4 |
|---|---|---|
| Critics describe Scots Active as far-right extremists who target immigrants. | · | |
| Glasgow's violent crime reached a five-year high, comprising nearly a quarter of all recorded offences. | · | |
| One in five of those arrested was a child, with the youngest aged 12. | · | |
| Paramilitary groups were reported to have orchestrated the riots and operate with impunity. | · | |
| Police were granted temporary powers to ban groups from a one-square-kilometre dispersal zone. | · | |
| The Children's Commissioner said children were being exploited and trafficked by agitators. | · |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
Channel 4 focused on the orchestration of the Belfast riots by paramilitary groups, the exploitation of children, and the personal impact on migrant families. The tone was investigative and empathetic, with detailed reporting from affected communities and interviews with officials and residents.
- “We knew that there was going to be violence coming and that this was orchestrated by wider forces, I would say, paramilitary groups who operate here year after year with complete impunity.”
- “I witnessed with my own eyes, children, young people, like so teenagers being transported in and out of my community, a community that these people don't live in. So that's coercion, that's trafficking.”
- “Our country is in danger. But this country at the moment is not peaceful for you either, is it? It doesn't feel it.”
BBC ONE West did not cover the Northern Ireland riots directly, instead reporting on similar anti-immigration tensions and violence in Glasgow. The report focused on a vigilante group, racial tensions, and rising violent crime, with a warning about misinformation on social media.
- “I don't care if you call me racist. Think what you want of me. I know I'm no racist. Nothing other than two cultures do not align.”
- “Police warn misinformation spreading online is fuelling tensions.”
- “Violent crime in Glasgow is at a five-year high, making up almost a quarter of all recorded offences.”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.