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People are blaming Boris Johnson for the Belfast riots

The riots raging in Belfast are being blamed on Boris Johnson. For days local people, many of them teenagers from loyalist communities, have being fighting running battles with the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI). Police have also used Water cannons and plastic bullets during the unrest.

The underlying causes are complex. They include anger over an IRA funeral that Sinn Fein politicians attended in 2020 and what the Irish Protocol means for the Good Friday Agreement. Many loyalists also believe the construction of a post-Brexit sea border has diminished their British identity.

But many are also blaming PM Boris Johnson personally over his reaction to the spiraling violence.

One Twitter user attacked Johnson for going to Cornwall instead of attending to the situation in NI:

Another joked that under the new Police Bill – which carries steep sentences for public disorder – home secretary Priti Patel would have Johnson jailed:

Someone else said Johnson and his cronies had a lot to answer for:

One person provided a handy picture comparison:

And someone else suggested the lack of coverage of the riots was a sign that the press was protecting the government:

Clearly, there are many reasons for the current violence in the north of Ireland. It’s also clear that many feel Johnson’s role in them won’t go unnoticed.

By Joe Glenton

This post was originally published on The Canary.