The DUP has said the Irish Government is partly to blame for the arrival of a Sudanese man in Northern Ireland who has been charged with attempted murder.
On Sunday, a man in his 40s was seriously injured after he was attacked with a knife in north Belfast.
Footage of the alleged incident went viral and a number of protests the following day turned violent, with families forced out of their homes and property set alight.
A burned out Gilder bus on Newtownards Road in east Belfast. Picture by: Alamy.com.Police arrested 30 year old Hadi Alodid, who appeared in court via on Wednesday and was remanded in custody.
The British Home Office said he had arrived in the United Kingdom in 2023 and was granted refugee status that same year.
It is understood that he flew into Dublin, before travelling to Northern Ireland.
On Newstalk Breakfast, DUP MP Gregory Campbell condemned the violence as “totally deplorable” and praised the police for doing a “reasonably good job”, adding that he hopes there will be no further riots or vandalism.
“We can then address the fundamental problem, which is the virtually uncontrolled immigration, where we have an increasing population in the UK and we don't have the services to provide for them,” he argued.
While Mr Campbell said it would be impossible to harden the ‘land border’ between North and South, he believes stricter border controls are needed at ports and airports.
“The person that's in court at the moment arrived in Dublin and came to Northern Ireland - it would appear totally unrestricted,” he said.
“It's with both London and Dublin Governments, because, yes, I agree that there should be closer cooperation to ensure that.
“I obviously know there's a different regime because the Republic is part of the EU.
“But there has to be a better way of analysing people who come from the Middle East and North African countries.”
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While the population of Northern Ireland is forecast to go into decline from 2031, due to a low birthrate and a lower level on immigration in comparison to Great Britain, the East Derry MP believes the number of people moving to the United Kingdom as a whole is too high.
He noted that the British population was under 60 million in the year 2000, but has increased by around 10 million since then.
“I say this, that those who want to have effectively an open map treatment to people fleeing persecution have to answer this question,” he said.
“How many people do they think this country can have? Is it 70 million, 80 million or 100 million?”
Also on the programme, Sinn Féin TD Matt Carthy TD said the border between North and South remains open for ‘practical reasons’.
“There are over 300 cross-border crossings,” he said.
“We know that even at the height of the conflict, when the British authorities sought to seal the border, in many respects that they were unable to do so.
“We know that the most logical way of managing migration is to do it at the ports and airports.”
Main image: A court artist drawing by Elizabeth Cook of Sudanese national Hadi Alodid. Picture by: Alamy.com.
