Gregory Campbell
Main Page: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)Department Debates - View all Gregory Campbell's debates with the Cabinet Office
Belfast: Violent Disorder
Gregory Campbell Excerpts(1 month, 2 weeks ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Watch Debate Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Urgent Questions are proposed each morning by backbench MPs, and up to two may be selected each day by the Speaker. Chosen Urgent Questions are announced 30 minutes before Parliament sits each day.
Each Urgent Question requires a Government Minister to give a response on the debate topic.
This information is provided by Parallel Parliament and does not comprise part of the offical record
Dan Jarvis
The hon. Member makes an important point, and I agree with his characterisation. He is right to reference the attack and the subsequent disorder, but also to reference concerns about those who would seek to initiate violent criminality under these particular circumstances. I give him an absolute assurance that we will take these matters incredibly seriously, as I am sure will the police.
Mr Gregory Campbell (East Londonderry) (DUP)
Rightly, there has been unanimous condemnation of the violence last night in Belfast, as there was of the incident that occurred in north Belfast that precipitated the protests last night. Does the Minister agree that two years ago, following the Southport attacks, similar violence to last night appeared in Northern Ireland? We all condemned that too, and I asked the Deputy First Minister to accompany me on a visit to our local hospital to reassure ethnic minority workers there that we not just condemned the violence against them, but stood shoulder to shoulder with them in opposition to it. However, we need more than just words and people standing shoulder to shoulder. We hope that there will never be a repeat of last night’s violence, but if the Government do not deal with the fundamental underlying problem of the previous night, we will have more nights like that one.
Dan Jarvis
I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman, not least because he provides me with the opportunity to make a point that I know he will agree with: Belfast is a truly great city. It is a place with incredible history and extraordinary character, and I believe it is a place of great potential and possibilities with a bright future ahead. That is why it is so tragic to see the kind of criminal disorder that all of us hoped had been consigned to the past. I understand the passion with which he speaks, but I hope he will also understand this Government’s commitment to dealing with what he describes as the fundamental underlying problems. He is right to raise them. Nobody is remotely blind to them, and we completely understand the anger. That is why we are working in the Home Office, and with colleagues right across law enforcement and Government, to ensure that we are making progress on the areas that he references.