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Two Stormont ministers have threatened police in Northern Ireland with legal action for failing to assist in the removal of a contentious loyalist bonfire.<\/p>\nTwo Stormont ministers have threatened police in Northern Ireland with legal action for failing to assist in the removal of a contentious loyalist bonfire.<\/p>\n
Sinn F\u00e9in Communities Minister Deirdre Hargey and SDLP Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon have issue pre-action correspondence to a Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) commander signaling their intention to take a judicial review against his decision not to intervene on the bonfire in the loyalist area of Tiger\u2019s Bay in north Belfast.<\/p>\n
The bonfire, which is set to be lit at the weekend as part of traditional \u201cEleventh Night\u201d events, is the source of escalating tensions amid claims from residents in the nearby nationalist New Lodge that it has been built too close to the sensitive community interface.<\/p>\n
Nationalist residents claim they are living in fear and have been attacked by missiles thrown by loyalist bonfire builders.<\/p>\n
Loyalists have rejected suggestions the siting of the bonfire was deliberately provocative and have accused nationalists and republicans of whipping up tensions in an effort to deny them what they view as a legitimate celebration of their culture.<\/p>\n
Hundreds of \u201cEleventh Night\u201d bonfires will be lit in loyalist communities across Northern Ireland over the weekend, most of them late on Sunday night, to usher in the main date in the Protestant loyal order parading season \u2013 the Twelfth of July.<\/p>\n
While the majority pass off each year without incident, some remain the source of community tension, with authorities previously having intervened to remove towering pyres on health and safety grounds.<\/p>\n
The road on Adam Street where the Tiger\u2019s Bay bonfire has been built is owned by the Department of Infrastructure while an adjacent piece of land where building materials have been collected is owned by the Department of Communities.<\/p>\n
The two departments have sought and secured the assistance of Belfast City Council (BCC) to remove the pyre.<\/p>\n
However, in order for BCC contractors to carry out the operation they need protection from the PSNI.<\/p>\n
The police are refusing to do so, having made the assessment that an intervention would risk disorder, placing people congregating at the bonfire, including several children, at risk.<\/p>\n
The ministers\u2019 legal letter to the PSNI notes that the police have taken an \u201coperational decision\u201d not to support the contractors.<\/p>\n
The letter, issued through Stormont\u2019s Departmental Solicitor\u2019s Office, says Assistant Chief Constable Alan Todd has informed the departments that police intervention will \u201clikely lead to wider disorder\u201d.<\/p>\n
The correspondence to Mr Todd sets out the departments\u2019 \u201cproposed basis to instigate judicial review proceedings\u201d unless he agrees to intervene.<\/p>\n
In the letter, reported by the PA, the ministers argue that the PSNI\u2019s refusal to act runs contrary to its statutory responsibilities under the Police (NI) Act 2000, namely to protect life and property, preserve order, prevent the commission of offences and bring offenders to justice.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe PSNI is expected to facilitate the BCC contractors in securing access to the bonfire site and in removing individuals in and around the bonfire so that it may be dismantled by the contractors,\u201d the letter states.<\/p>\n
The Tigers Bay Bonfire Group, which is listed as an interested party in the legal correspondence, has issued a response to the judicial review threat.<\/p>\n
In that response, Jamie Bryson, representing the group, has questioned the authority of the ministers to act on the matter, highlighting that under Stormont\u2019s ministerial code issues deemed \u201csignificant and controversial\u201d should be dealt with by the power-sharing executive as a whole.<\/p>\n
Pursuant to that point, Mr Bryson has also sent the response to Stormont\u2019s Executive Office, identifying it as a further interested party.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe challenge is a clear and obvious attempt by two nationalist ministers to usurp the operational independence of the PSNI,\u201d Mr Bryson states in his letter.<\/p>\n
The PSNI has declined to comment on the issue, citing ongoing judicial proceedings.<\/p>\n