From Newsgroup: soc.culture.irish

Exclusive: Monitoring group warned PSNI for eight months after far-right networks began circulating so-called hitlist of addresses

A monitoring group repeatedly warned the Police Service of Northern
Ireland over the past eight months that anti-immigration activists were circulating the addresses of properties that were targeted in this
weekrCOs Belfast riots.

The Accountability Project Northern Ireland, a volunteer group formed
last summer to monitor anti-immigration activity online, sent dozens of
reports to the PSNI between November 2025 and June 2026.

They warned of a growing focus on houses in multiple occupation (HMOs)
by anti-immigration and far-right figures, something they first observed
in August 2025.

The Guardian understands a so-called hitlist of addresses has been
circulating among far-right groups since August 2025 and was sent to the
PSNI in January 2026. The addresses were among the locations targeted
during this weekrCOs anti-immigration disorder.

The Guardian has seen a screenshot of an email sent to a PSNI inspector
in January attaching one such list. Campaigners say a similar list has
been circulated on social media and messaging apps in recent days. The
PSNI warned earlier this week against the sharing of home addresses,
adding that doing so had left families and residents rCLextremely distressedrCY.

The reports sent to the PSNI focused heavily on activity in the
Newtownabbey area north of Belfast, which has been at the centre of some
of the most serious disorder in recent days. Speaking on BBC Radio 4rCOs
Today programme, John Blair, the Alliance assembly member for South
Antrim, said the area had seen rCLa mob on a rampage of violence and destructionrCY.

The reports sent to police also cited a Facebook post stating that HMOs
in the Glengormley area rCLwill now be treated as fair game and dealt with accordinglyrCY. It went on to state: rCLAnyone caught funding or helping
these animals in being housed will be condemned as equally guilty.rCY

Glengormley was among the areas affected by anti-immigration disorder
over the past few days, with masked men setting homes on fire.

Anti-racist campaigners have spoken of their anger and frustration that
months of warnings were not acted on in the runup to the rioting that
has seen houses and cars burned, and racist checkpoints set up on main
roads.

Community groups described helping vulnerable families leave areas,
while volunteers organised support for minority ethnic students
travelling to GCSE exams. Campaigners also reported that some workers
from minority ethnic backgrounds were leaving work early because of
concerns about travelling home safely.

The dozens of reports concerning the targeting of HMOs were part of approximately 50 submissions to the PSNI from August 2025 until now.

A spokesperson for Accountability Project Northern Ireland said: rCLI have
seen the so-called hitlist currently circulating in Belfast, and I
recognised it immediately as the same list sent to the PSNI in January.

rCLThe fact that concerns about escalation were raised months ago, yet
some of the streets named have now been attacked, raises serious
questions about whether those warnings were acted upon.rCY

The reports sent to the police by the monitoring group identified anti-immigration and far-right figures known to the network and the
police in these posts and demonstrations outside rental properties.

The monitoring group repeatedly warned that language used in relation to
HMOs by anti-immigration and far-right activists was becoming
increasingly hostile and racially charged, with posts portraying asylum
seekers and refugees as a threat, and encouraging opposition to
properties believed to house them.

The PSNI was told that people in HMOs were being described as
rCLfighting-age malesrCY who could be rCLrapistsrCY and rCLmurderersrCY, and that
there were calls for people to rCLstart making a standrCY and rCLhope these protests get biggerrCY.

In April, the group warned police that HMOs were being portrayed online
as housing rCLforeignersrCY and people rCLnot from hererCY, and that such narratives could contribute to the targeting of properties and
individuals.

Further reports documented weekly anti-HMO protests, increasing
references to a rCLbusy summerrCY, as well as efforts to target estate
agents and property events.

In an email sent to the same PSNI inspector on 5 June, the group
emphasised escalating concerns and said some members of minority ethnic communities were stockpiling food as they were unsure what might happen
in the coming months. The PSNI did not respond.

Three days later, rioting broke out after Stephen Ogilvie was stabbed. A Sudanese refugee has been charged with attempted murder. The family of
the stabbing victim have condemned the violent protests.

A spokesperson for End Deportations Belfast said the strategy used in
the riots in Belfast were the same as those used in Northern Ireland
since the 1970s. rCLThey were setting up roadblocks and ID-checking cars
around hospitals,rCY they said. rCLThese roadblocks are designed to stretch police resources, and then they go and they commit pogroms in specific areas.rCY

The PSNI has been contacted for comment.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/jun/11/police-warned-addresses-t argeted-belfast-riots

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