Northern Ireland protocol: Allister discusses 'saving the Union'

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In what was a third continuous night of unrest in the province, officers came under attack from rioters in the loyalist areas of Newtownabbey and Carrickfergus in County Antrim, the PSNI said. DUP MP Gregory Campbell called for calm, saying: “Those attacking the police should stop. Rioting and injuring rank and file officers will only result in young people being criminalised.”

Sunday night’s violence follows on from two previous nights of rioting over the Easter weekend.

On Friday, 27 police officers were injured and eight people arrested during riots in Belfast and Derry/Londonderry.

Police said that they had come under “sustained attack” from a large group of young people, who threw stones, bottles and fireworks.

Then on Saturday, protesters threw 30 petrol bombs at officers and set light to cars in Newtownabbey, a suburb of northern Belfast.

Chief Superintendent Davy Beck said that around twelve men launched an “orchestrated attack on police.”

He also called for an end to the violence, saying: “I would appeal to those who are taking to the streets to stop immediately, their actions are causing nothing but harm and distress to the very communities they claim they are representing

A 47-year-old man was taken into custody on Sunday evening and has been charged in connection with rioting and throwing a petrol bomb in Newtownabbey on Saturday, the PSNI said.

Tensions among loyalist communities have been growing as discontent grows over the implementation of the North Ireland protocol, part of the Brexit deal that Boris Johnson signed with Brussels.

The protocol removes the need for a hard border between the two Irelands by allowing for customs checks to be carried out at ports in Northern Ireland.

Unionists have argued, however, that the protocol has strained ties with the rest of the UK through the imposition of trade barriers.

The growing anger at the post-Brexit arrangements has led Northern Irish loyalist paramilitary groups to temporarily suspend their support for the Good Friday Agreement, signed in 1998.

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Community divisions were also exacerbated last week after police decided against prosecuting 24 Sinn Fein politicians.

The party activists had breached lockdown restrictions to attend a large funeral.

The decision to not initiate a prosecution led to calls for the resignation of PSNI chief constable Simon Byrne by all major unionist parties.

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