'If you do not think illegal immigration is a problem then you are part of the problem too' says Carla Lockhart as she appeals for calm in Portadown
DUP MP Carla Lockhart says she is “trying to ensure calm heads prevail” in Portadown after another night of violence there – but stressed that those opposed to protests are ignoring “the root of the problem”.
Ms Lockhart had been on the ground in Portadown on Wednesday when trouble flared for the second time in 24 hours, sparked by the knife attack in north Belfast on Monday over which a Sudanese suspect has been charged.
Ms Lockhart said: “I condemn the violence against businesses, people or the police. It must stop.
"Stay calm, stay lawful and stay safe.
"We have many good people from all ethnic backgrounds living in our community, contributing to our community, and today I’ve spent some time talking to them, to businesses and constituents.”
She went on to add: “Those who want to shout the loudest about any form of protest do not want to acknowledge the root of the problem. I heard one Alliance MLA say that the protests weren’t immigration related.
"Sinn Fein, SDLP and Alliance want to bury the subject and use inflammatory language to label anyone who raises concerns.
"Those concerns have been voiced across the Ardoyne, Belfast, Dublin, and Cork.”
She added that people who now say that “we shouldn’t label an entire community for the deeds of one, are the same parties who want to sanction and label every Israeli or Jewish person for the perceived sins of their homeland”.
She added: “Illegal immigration is a problem.
"If you can’t acknowledge that then you are part of the problem.
"The government needs to get control.
"We’ve no idea how many people entered the UK via the Republic of Ireland."
The man accused of the stabbing had travelled from France to Ireland and then to Northern Ireland, where he claimed asylum.
Ms Lockhart added: "They should have been returned to the first European country they arrived in and claimed asylum there.”
Stephen Ogilvie lost his left eye and suffered deep cuts to his head, face and back in a stabbing attack on Monday night which preceded two nights of disorder in Northern Ireland.
DUP leader Gavin Robinson, MP for Belfast East, said he met the parents of Mr Ogilvie on Thursday afternoon and that the family were “broken” after what had happened to their son.
“They have spoken very powerfully, in my view, that their desire is that what happened to their son on Monday evening is not used as an excuse for intimidation or division within our society,” Mr Robinson said at Stormont.
“They have asked me to share that whilst their son remains in a coma, his condition is improving.
“They hope, pray and trust that he will be released from that coma within the next 24 or 48 hours, at which point assessments will be made about his sight and other impacts from the atrocity that happened on Monday evening.
“They are grateful for support, but they particularly are calling for an end to the misinformation, the falsehoods and the lies that are only making a very difficult situation all the worse.”