Deputy Leader Lesley Veronica & Cllr Áine Groogan meet with the PSNI amidst ongoing disorder following the racist attacks at the weekend in Belfast

Lesley said, "We had a positive meeting with the PSNI, where we discussed the challenges faced in the past few days. Our well wishes are with those officers who have been injured in the line of duty. We had an honest and frank conversation about the need to reassure communities, and ensure that this senseless violence is stopped in its tracks. What the events of the last few days have really brought home though, is the chronic underfunding of the policing system here is hurting us all, and I appeal to the Justice Minister to prioritise proper investment into our criminal justice system, particularly those areas on the frontlines and the restoration of community policing."

Cllr Áine Groogan added "I stood today with trade unions and the community sector at Stormont before this meeting, and the message was clear - racism has no place in our society. We need political leadership right across the spectrum to ensure that peace is restored. We must ensure that the far right are not given the opportunity to properly organise on the streets of Belfast. While the police have an important role in this, what we need is a government capable and willing to invest in youth services, in tackling deprivation, deliver housing, and bringing forward a funded and resourced racial equality strategy. Political leaders must do better, rather than stoking up phoney culture wars, scapegoating our migrant communities and failing to get to grips with paramilitary control which has led us where we are today and that must stop."

ENDS