Michelle
O’Neill accuses DUP minister of inflaming racial tensions on social media
Gordon Lyons
rejects calls to resign after posting information about leisure centre hours
before it was set on fire
Shane
Harrison
Thu 12 Jun
2025 18.12 BST
Northern
Ireland’s first minister has accused a DUP politician of inflaming tensions as
the display of political unity after three nights of violence fractured when a
leisure centre in Larne was set on fire.
Gordon
Lyons, the communities minister, should “consider his position”, Michelle
O’Neill said. Hours before the centre was set on fire by a mob of masked youths
on Wednesday, Lyons had posted on social media that the building was being used
to accommodate several people who had fled from Ballymena, about 20 miles
(32km) away.
Staff and
customers, including children learning to swim, were in the leisure centre at
the time of Wednesday’s attack, which coincided with violence in Ballymena amid
tensions over immigration.
Hours before
the attack, Lyons posted on social media that “a number of individuals were
temporarily moved to Larne leisure centre in the early hours of the morning
following the disturbances in Ballymena.
“As a local
MLA [member of the legislative assembly] for the area, neither I nor my DUP
colleagues were made aware or consulted on this decision until late this
afternoon,” he added. “Protesting is of course a legitimate right but I would
encourage everyone to remain peaceful.”
Speaking to
reporters on Thursday, O’Neill, of Sinn Féin, said Lyons had failed to show the
correct leadership. “I think that his commentary falls very short and very much
strays into the territory of inflaming the situation,” she said. “So, I think
he should consider his position.”
The Sinn
Féin finance minister, John O’Dowd, also called on Lyons to resign, while
Matthew O’Toole, the SDLP and opposition leader, said he would refer Lyons to
the standards commission. “The actions of the communities minister cannot be
ignored,” he said. “He is the minister responsible for the housing executive
and lives are at stake.”
Hilary Benn,
the Northern Ireland secretary, also called on Lyons to reflect on his
comments.
Lyons is
defying the calls, saying that under Stormont’s system of government no other
party can force him to quit: “That is not in their gift.”
Lyons told
the BBC his message “was posted because rumours had been circulating that the
leisure centre was being turned into a permanent centre” and that was no longer
the case. He said he was trying to defuse the situation.
The chief
constable of the PSNI, Jon Boutcher, said the recent disorder in Northern
Ireland was “absolutely race motivated”.
Speaking at
a news conference he said 41 police officers had been injured and 14 arrests
had been made so far. Addressing targeted communities, Boutcher said: “We stand
shoulder to shoulder with you. These bigots and racists will not win the day.”
O’Neill and
the deputy first minister, Emma Little-Pengelly, appeared together on Wednesday
to condemn the violence.
Echoing
comments from the police, the first minister said: “It’s pure racism, there’s
no other way to dress it up.” Little-Pengelly described the scenes in Ballymena
as “utter thuggery”.
More
anti-immigration rallies are reportedly planned. A housing association in
Portadown has urged tenants to stay with friends ahead of an expected gathering
in the town.
There have
also been calls for urgent action after the names of streets and addresses in
Ballymena were posted on a Facebook page with some designated “local”, the
apparent suggestion being that they should not be targeted.
The local
Sinn Féin MLA, Philip McGuigan, has called on the police and Meta to take
action. “This is a very dangerous situation in Ballymena, and what is happening
is absolutely disgusting and disgraceful,” he said.
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