Northern Ireland was plunged into crisis after violence escalated at the intersection between loyalist and nationalist communities in the Shankill and Springfield areas, with a petrol bomb attack on a bus driver who was steering clear of protests and missiles hurled over a “peace wall”.
The shadow Northern Ireland secretary, Louise Haigh, accused Boris Johnson of being responsible for a loss of trust in the loyalist community, citing his statements about Brexit in the run-up to the 2019 general election.
“It is Northern Ireland’s deep misfortune that the person who bears a shared responsibility for safeguarding the agreement has placed such little value on his words, and has shown such little regard for the consequences of his decisions.
“To make a promise as he did when he stood up in Northern Ireland and vowed to the unionist community that he would never impose a sea border, and then just a few months later do exactly that, showed a profound lack of integrity,” she said
This has been among the worst rioting since the 2013 flag protests, and comes as Northern Ireland prepares to mark the centenary of its foundation dating from the 1921 partition of Ireland.
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