00:00The scenes that we all saw last night were nothing short of disgraceful. Families fleeing their homes
00:05as masked men set fire to their houses. Their possessions, their cars, everything they owned,
00:11decimated. The video this morning of children being led from their home under protection of
00:15police in Radgeir carrying nothing but a teddy bear genuinely broke my heart to watch as a mother
00:20and as a grandmother and I'm sure yours too. Hard working businesses, some of which just opened
00:25their doors after being targeted last year again set fire to. None of this, none of this is about
00:31community. Not one single bit of it. There's nothing community-orientated about terrorising
00:37innocent and defenceless families who are fearing for their lives. It is thuggery, plain and simple.
00:43The attack in North Belfast was heinous and it was absolutely wrong but what we're now witnessing
00:49is that attack being exploited by dangerous and reckless people to target innocent people
00:54people who had absolutely nothing to do with it. People who are simply trying to live here,
01:00work here and raise their families here. Racism is wrong, intimidation is wrong and violence is wrong.
01:08There can be no excuse or no justification for what we witnessed last night. I have been and remain
01:15in constant contact with representatives on the ground supporting people, with the PSNI Chief Constable,
01:20with the British Prime Minister this morning, with the Secretary of State and with everyone that
01:25we need to speak with and I will continue to do everything that I can to support local communities
01:29through this horrific period.
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