I propose the motion in the wake of events over recent weeks, and particularly over the weekend and recent days. We do so to condemn them and to offer our solidarity to all those who have been impacted on by that racism and violence. We also want to look forward to determine what we need to do to tackle the underlying issues that have surfaced.

I will speak mainly in my capacity as an MLA and leader of the Alliance Party, but I will finish by making some comments as the Minister of Justice.

I begin by condemning absolutely and unequivocally the reprehensible events of the past number of weeks in Antrim and, more acutely, over the weekend in Belfast and further afield. The actions of a small and violent minority are motivated by a desire to foment hate and division, and it should be highlighted for what it is: fearmongering and intimidation at the highest level.

Let me say clearly that there is no place in our society for the hate, xenophobia, racism and Islamophobia that we have seen on the streets over recent weeks and days. My thoughts are with all of those who have been impacted on by the targeted violence and intimidation. Specifically to all those who are feeling fearful and anxious as a result of what they have seen and experienced over recent days, I say that we stand with you. That violent minority does not represent the people of Northern Ireland. We in the Chamber do, and we speak for you as well as for them.

I also thank the police officers who have had to respond to the violence, and I give my best wishes for a speedy recovery to those who have been injured in the line of duty. I will return to the issue of policing later in my remarks.

The most recent unrest that we have seen in towns and cities across the UK was, on the face of it, in retaliation to an abhorrent knife attack in Southport. I speak for all my colleagues, and I think those from other parties, when I say that my thoughts are with all those children who were attacked and their families, and my deepest condolences go out to the families of the three little girls who were murdered: Elsie Dot Stancombe, Alice Dasilva Aguiar and Bebe King. Their families' loss is unspeakable. In the hours following that attack, false media claims about the perpetrator were amplified on social media. 'The Guardian' reported that there were at least 27 million impressions of posts on Twitter alone that stated or speculated that the suspected attacker was Muslim, a migrant, a refugee or a foreigner.

Despite the pleas of the families of those girls for the unrest to stop, their anguish and pain is being exploited by those who are behind the riots. What we are witnessing is a form of radicalisation of people online through disinformation and outright lies propagated by far right and white supremacist elements, both domestic and international, and it is incredibly dangerous. Although people have a right to an opinion when it comes to issues such as immigration, as with any issue, it needs to be an informed opinion.

There have been suggestions from some that the violence is a result of people with genuine concerns about immigration seeking to protest legitimately. Those demonstrations, as they were advertised, were never intended to be either legitimate or lawful. From the outset, they were intended to intimidate and threaten, to break the law on public processions and to block roads, and I believe that they were intended to create violence and unrest. The call for women and children to stand at the front was, in my view, a clear attempt to use them as human shields when violence started. They were not, in my view, ever intended to be legitimate. They are hate marches.

I want, however, to speak beyond them. I want to speak to those people who are genuinely confused, frightened or even angry about immigration and to those who believe that immigrants and asylum seekers are the cause of their own hardship. They are not. Your anger is misdirected. Lack of investment by the previous Government in public services and housing is the cause, and, by taking out your frustrations on others because of their ethnicity, religion or skin colour, more scarce resources are being wasted. You are being manipulated by far right groups and social media fakery.

As political leaders, it is our role to counter, not amplify, division and disinformation. If you have genuine concerns about our community, raise it with us as your local MLAs. We must also collectively be clear, however, that there is no excuse ever for taking to the streets to intimidate others and create havoc in our community. Some of the people who have been the target of violence in Belfast are only here because they have experienced hardship and abuse in their home country that most of us can barely imagine. They are here to build a better life and to contribute constructively to society. They are here seeking safety, and they deserve to live in peace. Others, however, are long-standing members of our community, many second- and third-generation, who have built businesses, created employment opportunities and provided services to our community for longer than some of the rioters have been alive. We need to ask ourselves honestly as a society: how long before someone is accepted as being part of our community? How many generations need to have passed before they are fully accepted and welcomed? If they continue to be othered because of the colour of their skin, their religion or their ethnicity, then let us be clear that that is racism, it is xenophobia, and it is Islamophobia. That is not and can never be legitimate, and we need to work collectively, as political leaders, to combat it.

I now want to make some remarks as the Justice Minister. Obviously, I was horrified to hear media reports of a man who was attacked in the street on Monday, and who is now in a serious condition in hospital after his attackers stamped on his head. I send my very best wishes to that man for a speedy recovery. The police say that they are treating that incident as a hate crime.

Just before recess, I spoke to the Assembly about my determination to expedite progress on updating our hate crime legislation and strengthening the protections that we offer to victims of hate crime. The recommendations from Judge Marrinan's independent review of hate crime legislation in 2020 have provided the impetus for that work. The implementation of those recommendations will make a real and tangible difference for victims of racist hate crimes. The loss of two years of Assembly business and the constraints on resources in the Department and the wider justice system have restricted the range of legislative reforms that are possible in the remainder of this mandate. Despite those challenges, however, I am determined that foundational new hate crime legislation provisions will be in place by the end of the mandate. I hope that I can rely on the support of colleagues here today in progressing those reforms, which, I believe, will offer significant assurance and shift the dial on our hate crime response and, indeed, the conversations in this space. I intend to make a statement in the Assembly setting out the details of my intentions following the summer recess.

The PSNI has had a very difficult task in policing the complex and rapidly evolving events of the past few days. I know that work is ongoing to bring those involved to justice and that they will face the full force of the law. There have already been 16 arrests and 11 people have been charged, and that number is due to rise in the coming days. I have also been made aware of work that is being done with an Garda Síochána to identify those who crossed the border to engage in riots in Belfast at the weekend. I thank Minister McEntee for engaging with me on those issues earlier this week.

I visited the Belfast Islamic Centre yesterday to hear from some of those who have been affected by this situation. I heard very clearly that people have lost confidence in the police, and that concerns me. When I say that lessons will have to be learned, one of those is how to restore that trust and confidence. I pay tribute to the Chief Constable and his officers for the work that they are already doing to address those concerns. As I have said many times, policing and justice have not been this stretched since devolution in 2010. Though the total Northern Ireland block grant has increased by 53% in the past 13 years, the DOJ has seen just under 13% growth in its budget allocation. Policing makes up around 65% of our budget, and so it has endured the same sustained and profound squeeze. I say that in order to demonstrate that there are consequences of past decisions, some of which were made when the Northern Ireland block grant was in a much better state than it is today.

We know that, despite comparative investment, the health service and the education system are still not in a good place. Whilst, in my view, structural changes are required that partially can deal with this, it is clear that the effects on policing and justice of being actively starved of investment have never really received the same public attention. My colleagues and I have fought for years to highlight the risk in underfunding public services and justice, although, sadly, that has brought little to the table. No one, however, can claim to be surprised that there is a backlog in our courts, that our prisons are full and that our Police Service is at its lowest ever number of officers. The effect of those numbers in policing, amongst other things, is a lack of resilience. Services get scaled back, particularly in relation to work in neighbourhood policing. When there is a crisis such as unrest on the scale that we have witnessed over the past week, it is incredibly hard to manage. I therefore met the Secretary of State on Monday evening and again yesterday morning, and I was clear that policing needs access to the additional resources and support that is available to England and Wales during the current unrest and beyond. I also welcome and thank the Finance Minister, who has been clear in highlighting the need for further investment in public services across Northern Ireland and continues to fight on behalf of the Executive for the proper funding of our public services. I continue to support those efforts on behalf of policing and justice.

In closing, I will make two appeals. First, to anyone with information about either those who are involved or about other planned disturbances, I ask that you please bring that forward to the police and support us in bringing those who are responsible to justice. My second appeal is for calm. I appeal to people to step back and to all those who have influence to continue to seek to calm tensions and show support for and solidarity with those who are suffering most directly and are impacted on most profoundly by the violence and hatred. That is not who we are, and we cannot allow it to be.