The UK government’s response? To amend the Online Safety Act to increase censorship and to further limit what information the public has access to.
Stephen Ogilvie, an Irishman in his 40s, was attacked by Hadi Alodid, a 30-year-old Sudanese national. It wasn’t just a brutal stabbing incident. It was something far more horrific. In the video circulating online, the attacker can be seen trying to decapitate his victim. But the attacker was stopped by three men intervening, one hitting the attacker with a wooden hurling stick as others kicked him to try to force him to release his victim.
Ogilvie has suffered life-changing injuries, including the loss of his left eye and severe damage to his right eye, face and back. He remains in the hospital in serious but stable condition.
Alodid has been charged with attempted murder, possession of a knife in a public place and threats to kill.
To bypass UK border controls, people smugglers have been using the Common Travel Area – which allows free movement between Ireland and Northern Ireland without routine immigration checks – to move illegal immigrants into the UK. Smugglers advertise a “backdoor” route where migrants fly to Dublin, Ireland, often using fake IDs or visas, and are instructed to enter the UK by taking a bus to Belfast, Northern Ireland, to claim asylum. This is how Alodid entered Northern Ireland in 2023. A few months after illegally entering Northern Ireland, Alodid claimed asylum, was given refugee status and leave to remain in the UK.
As Brendan in the video below says, the Northern Irish are “fed up.”
“We know the truth,” he says. “There’s kids getting chased all over the city and raped. There’s an influx of drugs and foreign men and criminals … [We want to see] mass deportations. If anybody comes in here in the last ten years, it’s not so good for the country, they shouldn’t be here.”
The man in the video below quite rightly blames UK government policies for what’s happened.
And the caller in the video below tells TalkTV, “Our government is complicit in bringing these people into the country … Governments in the West are pushing this to push the digital ID through.”
Protests are not only happening in various parts of Northern Ireland. Yesterday, an anti-immigration rally was also held in Dublin.
Jim Ferguson posted a video of the protest, saying, “Footage from Dublin shows protesters expressing solidarity with the people of Belfast as demonstrations continue to spread. For generations, politicians spoke of the divisions between North and South. Today, many are pointing to something different: People on both sides of the border finding common cause on immigration, national identity and the future of their countries,” he said.
SOMETHING HISTORIC MAY BE HAPPENING
Footage from Dublin shows protesters expressing solidarity with the people of Belfast as demonstrations continue to spread. For generations, politicians spoke of the divisions between North and South. Today, many are pointing to something oth sides of the border finding common cause on immigration, national identity and the future of their countries. The old divisions may not be disappearing. But a new unity appears to be emerging. Unity is strength.
As Ferguson noted in another tweet, “What is emerging is bigger than a single protest. Bigger than a single city. And potentially bigger than the politicians who thought they could simply ride out the storm.”
A POLITICAL EARTHQUAKE IS RIPPLING ACROSS IRELAND
From Belfast to Dublin, the mood is changing. A powerful speech today highlighted the growing anger and frustration felt by many who believe their concerns have been ignored for too long. What is emerging is bigger than a than a single city. And potentially bigger than the politicians who thought they could simply ride out the storm. The ground is shifting.
And so, what has the UK government’s response been? Just as after the horrific Southport murders, the Government’s solution is censorship. People who are talking about the crime will be targeted instead of the criminals. How? By using the Online Safety Act … again.
The Labour government has announced plans to amend the Online Safety Act to grant regulator Ofcom enhanced powers to crack down on social media content during “times of crisis,” a move triggered by the unrest following the Belfast knife attack, GB News reportedyesterday.
Technology Secretary Liz Kendall stated the changes will require platforms to take quicker action to remove illegal content that could incite violence or disorder, specifically targeting material amplified by figures like Elon Musk.
The proposal has sparked a censorship row and potential clash over free speech, with critics including Reform UK’s Matt Goodwin arguing ministers should address root causes like immigration policy rather than policing online discourse, the Daily Mail reported.
Noting the Daily Mail’s article, Bernie Spofforth tweeted, “The time between conspiracy theory and fact is now about 6 hours in the UK.” Hours earlier, she had posted the tweet below saying:
“After what happened in Belfast, the emerging progressive argument seems to be that people are angry because social media allowed too many people to see the video. In other words, people would not be angry if they did not know. And that is exactly the point.
“Without full knowledge and information, people are far easier to control. Net Zero becomes ‘necessary’ because no one sees the cost. Climate change becomes unquestionable because the BBC says so.
“What I take from this is simple: censorship of information is every bit as important as censorship of speech. Because if people cannot compare notes, they cannot form conclusions. And if they cannot form conclusions, they cannot resist.
“This is not a moral stance they have taken. It is a political one. Those who believe their worldview is the only acceptable worldview will always end up justifying oppression, because they convince themselves they are doing it for your own good.
“The danger of the internet was never simply that it allowed people to speak. It was that it allowed people to know. And once the public knows too much, those who want control will conclude that knowledge itself is dangerous.
“That is why the fight for free speech is also a fight for free information.
“The battle now is not only over speech. It is over knowledge, information, and who gets to decide what the public is allowed to understand.”
No comments:
Post a Comment