Man to appear in court over Belfast knife attack as rioting described as ‘race-based pogrom’ by SDLP leader – UK politics live

Key events3m agoPSNI chief constable defends releasing information about suspect's nationality14m agoLabour chair Anna Turley says Elon Musk's interventions encouraging unrest in Belfast have been 'appalling'31m agoMan to appear in court over Belfast knife attack as rioting described as ‘race-based pogrom’ by SDLP leaderPSNI chief constable defends releasing information about suspect's nationalityJon Boutcher, the chief constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, has defended his force’s decision to tell the public yesterday that the man arrested for the Belfast knife attack on Monday night was Sudanese.In an interview on the BBC’s Good Morning Ulster, he said:

double quotation markWe have learned that if we don’t give information, then online misinformation and lies lead to people believing things that aren’t true and start to mindlessly conduct attacks – and that was what happened at Southport not that long ago.

Asked about the force originally suggesting the suspect was from Somalia, Boutcher said:

double quotation markWe said we ‘believe’ that because that was the information that we were given after the incident occurred and we’re always going to get more detailed information as time passes by.