Below is the speech by Jim Allister during Tuesday’s debate in the Assembly:
“I beg to move amendment No 1:
Insert after first “Fleadh;”:
“deplores the lack of action by the investigative and prosecuting authorities in respect of the criminal offence of incitement to hatred;”.
“I concur largely if not entirely — I think, in fact, that I concur entirely — with what the proposer of the motion said about this matter. It was quite a shocking incident. It may be acceptable to some who for years have wallowed in that sort of “Brits out” approach, with all the attendant force and violence that they gave to that message, but, across Northern Ireland, I think that many right-thinking people were aghast when they viewed it on YouTube. They were aghast at the virulence of the wording, at how it was delivered and at the deliberate whipping-up of the young crowd into a frenzy. That being so, I found it amazing that the police and the prosecuting authorities took such a sanguine attitude and that, within days of the complaint by Councillor Jolene Bunting and others, they had dismissed the matter, sought to sweep it under the carpet and decreed that there would be no prosecution. It begs the question: what is the law of the land supposed to be on these issues? The law of the land on these issues is supposed to be set out in the Public Order (Northern Ireland) Order 1987, which states:
“A person who uses threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour … is guilty of an offence if—
(a)he intends thereby to stir up hatred or arouse fear; or
(b)having regard to all the circumstances hatred is likely to be stirred up or fear is likely to be aroused thereby.”
“That is often characterised as incitement to hatred, which, of course, had its origins in a 1970 Act.
“Let us think about those words. Think about the words that were used by a member of the Druids:
“It’s about time that they got all their Orange comrades together.”
“That is an all-embracing classification of anyone of the Orange tradition. He also said:
“It’s about time that they loaded up the bus, and it’s about time that they all effed off back to England where they came from.”
“I have to say this, Mr Speaker: I did not come from England, and many people who would be categorised as “Orange comrades” by these nefarious folk did not come from England. We were born here, live here and are entitled and determined to stay here. The suggestion that we should eff off back to England is not just “insulting”, which is one of the words of the Act, but threatening and abusive. I think that the first test of whether the words used were “threatening, abusive or insulting” is demonstrably met when you think of those words.
“The second limb of the test is whether, having regard to the circumstances, hatred was likely to be stirred up. I think that you got the answer to that when you watched on YouTube the whipped-up frenzy of those to whom the words were addressed — those who were wallowing and rejoicing in the hatred that those words stirred up.
“I have to say that I find it amazing that the police, faced with a complaint, simply wanted to wipe it under the carpet, whereas their obligation was to investigate the complaint. How can you investigate a complaint of incitement to hatred, when the words were so demonstrably abusive, threatening and insulting, without seeking to interview those who had uttered those words?
“Immediately, there was reasonable suspicion of the commission of an offence — obviously, there had to be reasonable suspicion of the commission of an offence. Immediately that arose, there was a duty and an obligation to arrest and to interview. It is by interviewing that you then put to the test somewhat whether there was intent to stir up hatred. It is beyond doubt that someone who used words of that nature required to be taxed in interview about what they thought they were doing, what they intended by what they were saying and what they thought the likely consequences were.
“It is not the easiest offence in the world to get a conviction on, given the requirement for intent to stir up hatred, but it no longer is just that. The law also provides that, if, having regard to all the circumstances, hatred is likely to be stirred up, that is enough. I find it astounding that the police did not even interview and did not even seek to arrest but rushed to say, “No action on this matter”.
“As for the Chief Constable, when there was a little controversy, he said, “Oh, we can very quickly put a file together and send it to the DPP”. No, they cannot. A file properly constructed on this issue would require an arrest, an interview and the inclusion of that interview. It cannot simply be wrapped up and thrown into the DPP to give us the answer that we are looking for.
“I think that this rankles so much with so many people in, to use their language, “the Orange community” because, in recent times, many in the loyalist community have witnessed the enthusiasm — the relentless enthusiasm — with which, for example, some flag protesters were pursued. Take some of the people prominent in that. Take the case of William Frazer: he may not be everyone’s cup of tea in the House but he is a citizen with the same rights as everyone else. He was arrested and charged under the Serious Crime Act 2007, held for weeks in custody, then given bail and arrested twice for an alleged breach of his bail conditions, once upon returning from this Building after attending a debate. He was pursued relentlessly by the PSNI until, 15 months’ later, shamefaced, the police had to drop every last charge of a public order nature. Anyone who knows anything about the law knew that the offences were always incapable of sticking in those circumstances.
“So where was the parity of approach when it came to dealing with William Frazer, for example, as opposed to the indecent haste with which the Chief Constable and the director wanted to sweep this matter under the carpet? It is because of such contrasting approaches that there is a growing gulf of disrespect, sadly, amongst many in the loyalist community for police and police actions. I have to say that the police have stoked that situation by their approach to this matter. It is deplorable that there was a failure to take adequate investigative and prosecutory steps.”