Image source, NI Assembly

Alex Maskey, the speaker, makes an intervention in proceedings following a number of points of order raised from both sides of the house.

He says “there are a lot of people out there watching and listening to what’s going on in here this morning,” adding that people “want to see leadership across all the parties”.

He says he doesn’t “want to hear any other kind of contributions that are straying into disrespect”.

Mr Maskey appeals to members to “watch their language", "measure your language" and to be respectful.

DUP assembly member Mervyn Storey says "no one could be but saddened and depressed at the scenes of violence and destruction on our streets in the last number of days".

The Policing Board member adds: "Let us be very clear, no ambiguity, no double talk - this is wrong."

Mr Storey says no one "should use as a cover or take as license, to be involved in attacking police officers, burning cars, buses, property, and instilling fear in their own community and in someone else's".

He says "legitimate concerns in relation to the events that have unfolded over the last number of months" should not be used as an excuse for violence, "whether that be the NI protocol, whether it be the circumstances surrounding the funeral of Bobby Storey".

Martina Anderson calls for MLAs to “build on the common ground on which we all stand” and to “recommit to upholding a culture of lawfulness in both action and in words”.

The Sinn Féin MLA says “23 years after the Good Friday Agreement, we are thankfully in the privileged space where dialogue can be used to build relationships between orange, green and all other traditions who call our society home”.

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“I have heard people in the PUL [Protestant, unionist, loyalist] community who feel that their identity has been undermined as a result of changes brought about by the British government and by political unionism,” she adds.

“I don’t want to see any young person from any tradition, having their lives ruined by a criminal record.”

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Northern Ireland Secretary State Brandon Lewis will fly to NI this afternoon for urgent talks with the main Stormont parties about the recent violence.

DUP MLA Gary Middleton condemns the violence, saying "we must never stoop to the level of those who would use terror for political means".

He adds that it is "of the utmost importance that the genuine concerns of the unionist community are not drowned out by destruction".

"Frustrations have been building for months and I and others warned of the complete disregard to the unionist community by those who called for a border in the Irish Sea."

He says the perception of "two-tier policing" has led to the erosion of support within the unionist community for the PSNI.

"When those in senior government positions break the law, but are not held accountable, that endangers devolution.

"It is because we believe in the rule of law that we want to see it applied equally and fairly."

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Steve Aiken, the leader of the Ulster Unionist Party, says “this violence must stop before anyone is killed”.

“Covid hasn’t gone away,” adds the MLA, and says large gatherings not only break Covid regulations, but may also contribute to a further spread of the disease.

“I want to reemphasis our support for the PSNI,” says Mr Aiken, adding that that officers “deserve our unreserved thanks” for the work they do to protect communities.

Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon appeals to all political leaders to "reflect seriously on where their words are taking us over the course of the next few hours and the next few days".

She adds: "A bus driver was attacked doing his job serving the community. A press photographer was attacked doing his job in capturing the truth.

"Police officers were, for the eighth consecutive night, attacked for doing their job protecting communities and keeping us safe."

The SDLP minister says that when she took up her role, she "never imagined that [she] would be receiving updates about the condition of one of our bus drivers, a public servant, after a bus was hijacked and petrol bombed while the attackers were cheered on by a mob."

Deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill says “what we saw last night at Lanark Way interface was a very dangerous escalation of events in recent days”.

Sinn Féin's deputy leader sends her thoughts to the 55 police officers who have been injured during rioting.

Ms O’Neill says “there is an onus on every single MLA and other public representatives to assume our responsibilities, to address the tensions as we see them, to restore calm, and to work with those credible local community leaders and the police”.

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“Illegal loyalist paramilitaries and criminal elements are orchestrating this violence while they stand back and send youngsters out to do their bidding,” says Ms O’Neill.

The Mid Ulster MLA adds that “there is room for everybody at the table, but I’ll tell you where there isn’t room - there isn't room for armed gangs, for criminal gangs who care nothing about the future of this society.”

Appearing via videolink due to illness, First Minister Arlene Foster says the scenes of violence "are totally unacceptable".

"There can be no place in our society for violence or the threat of violence and it must stop," she says.

"Just as it was wrong in the past, so it is wrong now and cannot be justified."

She adds that the injury to front line officers, and the harm to Northern Ireland's image "has taken us backwards".

She appeals for responsible political leadership, saying: "When politics fail, then those who fill the vacuum offer destruction and despair.

"We must work through these challenges, because responsible leadership will not cherry pick the problems that are easiest and will not wish away difficult challenges... it will not leave things to fester or worsen."

Northern Ireland's executive has said it is "united behind law and order" after consecutive nights of "deplorable" violence.

In a statement, the executive called for calm to be restored and an end to the riots.

"We are gravely concerned by the scenes we have all witnessed on our streets over the last week, including those at the Lanark Way interface last night," ministers said.

"Attacks on police officers, public services and communities are deplorable and they must stop.

"Destruction, violence and the threat of violence are completely unacceptable and unjustifiable, no matter what concerns may exist in communities.

Image source, Pacemaker

"Those who would seek to use and abuse our children and young people to carry out these attacks have no place in our society."While our political positions are very different on many issues, we are all united in our support for law and order and we collectively state our support for policing and for the police officers who have been putting themselves in harm’s way to protect others.

"We, and our departments, will continue to work together to maximise the support we can give to communities and the PSNI to prevent further violence and unrest."

"We cannot rewrite the past but we can agree to start a new chapter, one that offers hope in this community, but all of that needs to be built on a firm foundation,” says Naomi Long.

The Alliance leader refers to a decision by the Public Prosecution Service around the funeral of senior republican Bobby Storey.

“We may not agree with every operational decision of the police, Public Prosecution Service or the judiciary” but if there are concerns they should be addressed through proper channels, says Mrs Long.

“The scenes we have witnessed of people forced from their cars, bus drivers and passengers ordered off public transport and vehicles set alight are nothing short of disgraceful,” says Naomi Long.

“It is a mercy that no one has lost their life as a result of this appalling violence,” says the Alliance leader.

She calls recent scenes as “depressing as they are disgraceful”.

Image source, NI Assembly

"There are many theories as to why this violence has erupted,” says Mrs Long, but adds that there is “no excuse or justification for what has taken place”.

The East Belfast MLA refers to Covid-19 regulations and says “upholding a culture of lawfulness is not only about what we say, but about what we do”.

Mrs Long says last night “it became clear that deep-rooted sectarian hatred still propels people towards violence,” something which she strongly condemns.

“We need to dial down the rhetoric,” she adds.

First Minister Arlene Foster and DUP MLA Mervyn Storey spoke with the PSNI chief constable for 10 minutes via a conference call this morning.

Simon Byrne then spoke separately with Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald.

He also, separately, briefed the full executive.

Image source, Pacemaker

Image source, NI Assembly

Speaker of the House Alex Maskey brings members of the NI Assembly to order and opens proceedings to the public.

Some MLAs, including First Minister Arlene Foster, are joining the meeting by video link.

Mr Maskey runs through some house-keeping rules before calling Alliance leader, and sponsor of today’s motion, Naomi Long to open the debate.

Image source, PA / Steve Parsons

Assembly members are breaking Easter recess to discuss recent violence in Northern Ireland.

Following a sixth night of violence in the great Belfast area, a total of 55 police officers have been injured.

While politicians have been united in their condemnation of attacks on police, there has been little agreement on the source of the discontent.

Blame has been attributed to loyalist frustration at a decision not to prosecute those who attended the funeral of senior republican Bobby Storey last summer, as well as concerns over Brexit and the NI Protocol.

Today’s meeting of the NI Assembly was brought forward by the Alliance Party.

You can read the full wording of the motion here., external

Justice Minister Naomi Long says “it’s only a matter of time before someone loses their life” if violence continues across Northern Ireland.

“It’s clear there was a degree of orchestration and certainly encouragement of young people to get involved in that violence," she tells BBC's Good Morning Ulster programme.

“There are underlying reasons why people are angry, but they don’t provide any excuse for the kind of wanton scenes of destruction we’ve seen over the last number of nights."

"I actually felt ill listening to adults clapping, cheering, goading young children to put their lives at risk throwing petrol bombs at buses and attacking the police."

The Alliance Party leader called on political representatives to "step up to the plate" to not just condemn the violence, but to find solutions to the problems.

Children have been "groomed" to riot in the streets, the the Ulster Unionist Party's (UUP) Doug Beattie has said.

The party's justice spokesman told Good Morning Ulster that the violence was "absolutely disgraceful".

“What we’re seeing here is kids being groomed - children being groomed by adults - to go out onto the street and riot and burn a bus and endanger people," he said.

“By taking the handbrake off that bus and sending it free-wheeling down the road, they turned that bus into a deadly weapon that could have taken out any young family, any child in a pram or anybody there."

Asked if he now regretted the party's call for the chief constable to resign, he said politicians had a right to raise their concerns but that it was “no excuse for anybody to go and riot”.

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SDLP assembly member Matthew O'Toole said the violence must be condemned "without qualification".

“The first thing we should all be doing today is condemning utterly and without reservation - without buts, ifs, or qualifications - the scenes that we’ve seen on the streets of Belfast last night and across Northern Ireland over the last few days."

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PSNI Assistant Chief Cosntable Jonathan Roberts says the force is aware of "a number of events that are outlined on social media encouraging people to attend to protest".

ACC Roberts said: "I would remind everybody that there are still coronavirus regulations in terms of gatherings and if you attend a gathering you are in breach of those regulations.

"We will continue to monitor events that are planned and we will respond accordingly and I would encourage anybody who is considering trying to organise an event, or participating in one, not to do so - it’s not helpful.”

He added: "The health regulations remain in place for good reason".

PSNI ACC Jonathan Roberts says 55 police officers have been injured because of the violence of recent days.

He says this has an impact both on the individual officers, but also "on their families".

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"It's concerning for officers and families when they're turning out to deal with this type of disorder on a nightly basis," he tells Good Morning Ulster.

The senior officer says the actions also have an impact on communities because those officers will not be available "to provide the service that we want to provide".