[ad_1]
Northern Ireland police will hold talks later today with partner agencies after physical Brexit checks were suspended at the ports of Belfast and Larne over security concerns.
The Northern Ireland Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) said yesterday that it had decided “in the interests of staff welfare to temporarily suspend physical inspections of animal products in Larne and Belfast” pending further discussions with the PSNI.
A DAERA spokesperson said: “The situation will remain under review and, in the meantime, full desk checks will continue as usual.”
Northern Ireland Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots said that he had made the decision to withdraw the port staff in consultation with his staff.
PSNI Deputy Chief of Police Mark McEwan said force officials would meet with partner agencies to discuss the situation.
“The safety of personnel working at the entry points is of the utmost importance to us,” he said. “When we have credible information, we will share it with our partners and take the necessary action.
“We have increased patrols at the Port of Larne and other entry points to reassure staff and the local community.”
It comes after council staff in Larne Port were removed from their inspection duties.
Twelve members of East Antrim City Council staff who were assisting DAERA and UK Border Force officials with controls at the port were removed from their duties with immediate effect yesterday.
The council said the decision was made after an “increase in sinister and threatening behavior in recent weeks.”
Graffiti appeared in the area last month referring to tensions over the Northern Ireland Protocol and describing port staff as “targets.”
There have also been a series of blots in Belfast amid anger over the protocol, with a series of new controls on goods arriving in ports from Britain introduced earlier in the year.
The council said that the situation had caused “extreme distress and concern to the staff” and that it “had no choice but to remove them from their duties to fulfill their duty of care and conduct a full risk assessment with the PSNI, Food Standards Agency. “. and DAERA “.
He apologized for any disruption, but said “the safety and well-being of the staff is of the utmost importance.”
Latest Brexit Stories
In addition to the graffiti fears, staff are understood to have expressed concern that people have been seen removing the vehicle’s license plate details.
East Antrim Mayor Peter Johnston said: “We have seen what I would describe as deeply disturbing graffiti and a very noticeable increase in community tensions towards the IN Protocol, particularly in the last few days.
“The health and well-being of our staff is always the number one priority of this city council and that is why the decision has been made to withdraw them from their work in the port with immediate effect until we have very real guarantees and full confidence that they can continue ahead. their duties without fear, threat or concern for their welfare. “
Sinn Féin Councilor James McKeown said: “Our staff will walk away from this job and will only return when we are fully satisfied that it is safe and correct for them to do so.
“There are latent tensions within the local community at the moment and we will not stand by and let our staff be the target when they are simply doing their job.”
Last month, police warned that discontent in loyalist communities was “growing” over the Northern Ireland Protocol, which is designed to allow the country to follow EU customs rules and has caused delays at ports due to new declarations and controls.
The DUP has been vociferous against the operation of the protocol.
The party’s deputy in North Antrim, Ian Paisley, condemned the threats to staff, but said the protocol was “intended to cause these problems.”
“Such tactics have no place in a democracy,” he said.
“This is the sad reality of those who imposed conditions on Northern Ireland without consent to the delicate community balance that exists here. The protocol was destined to end in tears and here we have the fabric of society crumbling.”
[ad_2]