Ian Acheson: Islamist and right wing radicalisation expert says when politicians don't talk about immigration 'the issue has a habit of talking for itself'
A UK expert in Islamist and right wing radicalisation says of current street violence, that when politicians don’t talk about immigration “the issue has a habit of talking for itself".
Enniskillen man Ian Acheson was speaking after recent street protests and violence across the UK by far right and asian mobs which have seen police cars burnt out, and extensive damage to property and widespread assaults on civilians and police officers.
On Monday night the PSNI came under sustained attack and the victim of a suspected hate crime is in a serious condition in hospital after violence in Belfast.
At one stage petrol was poured over a police Land Rover and set alight.
Police deployed two attenuating energy projectiles (AEPs), with one rioter struck on the hand. A 15-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of riotous behaviour.
The latest violence began late on Monday in the same area where two businesses were attacked on Saturday following an anti-immigration protest.
Ian is a former prison governor and senior official in the UK Home Office. He is also an expert in the UK’s criminal justice system and Islamist and right-wing radicalization.
In 2016 he led a landmark independent review of Islamist extremism in prisons. Now he advises governments across the world on combating extremism in prisons.
He is also chief operating officer of Great Britain’s legal human rights and equality regulator, and visiting professor at the University of Staffordshire School of Policing, Law and Forensics.
He condemns all violence across the UK that has been making headlines.
"The violence is completely unacceptable and completely unjustifiable," he told the News Letter. "No coherent political ideology involves burning a library or looting a vape shop."
But he also argues that after the current violence is resolved, the Prime Minister must listen to communities that politicians normally "won't talk to".
"When politicians don’t want to or can’t talk about immigration the issue has a habit of talking for itself," he told the News Letter.
"While much of the country gets along with their neighbours whatever their ethnic origin or religion, there are certain what I would call ‘developing interface communities’ in Northern England in particular where the legitimacy of the state is breaking down and people are living parallel lives. All depressingly familiar to those of us who grew up in NI. Keir Starmer is acting as a prosecutor now – we must have order restored.
"But later he must act as a diplomat to ensure communities that mainstream politicians won’t talk to or about are brought together and listened to."
He added: "There’s nothing inherently wrong with an anti-immigrant position. People are entitled to express the feeling that we have uncontrolled immigration. As long as this sentiment is within the law that’s perfectly fine."
However the street violence of recent days, he says, is not ideological but moreso linked to "the psychology of crowds" and the inability of police to contain them
"This has absolutely been aggravated by propaganda and incitement online."
He believes some of the dynamics in the current situation in the UK are similar to those in the US.
"Every nation has its own version of ‘flyover country'" he said, meaning forgotten regions which wealthier urban people might only view from airplanes but never experience in person.
The "back garden" of Donald Trump's vice presidential nominee JD Vance, is just such a region, he says.
"I think politics in general both here and in the US is disconnected from the everyday reality of life for ordinary people. We can’t have a country at ease with itself if politics is pitched at and to some extent represented by ‘high status’ groups, whether they are young metropolitan professionals or middle class retirees. It’s no surprise that many of the areas where we have seen violence also are in the skip when it comes to prosperity measures."
In a recent piece about the riots for the Spectator he said perceptions of different styles of policing for different ethnic communities across the UK has been a factor in unrest.
"The video of the police response to disorder at Manchester airport, the attack on a senior Army officer [in Kent], disorder in Leeds and Whitechapel [after social services took at-risk children away] all have distinct features of ethnicity and religion.
"Concern and anger about the policing of these events surely swelled the massive demonstration in London [on 27 July] led by Tommy Robinson.
"Accusations of political policing of protest where the intensity of enforcement is greater if the protestor is white, now a meme in itself – ‘two-tier Keir’ have been viewed on social media well over a million times."We are always encouraged to seek the much safer narrative ground of compassion and concern for victims and survivors – an entreaty made with depressing regularity. But is this sufficient to quell increasing feelings of public rage? Clearly not."
The immediate priority for Keir Starmer must be to deal with the violence that is happening now, he says.
But he adds: "I do hope that when the dust settles this crisis provides the opportunity for a truly honest national conversation about why our social fabric is fraying and what we do to unite people."