Belfast: Estate agency rammed in ‘racially motivated’ attack

A Belfast estate agent whose premises were rammed by a car has said he is frightened and devastated after his business was targeted twice in a week.

Police said masked men drove a hijacked car into the building on Woodvale Road on Tuesday evening.

The business owner, Robert McDowell, believes he was targeted because of claims that he was renting homes to asylum seekers.

Six people have been arrested after a third night of disorder in Belfast.

Mr McDowell told BBC Radio Ulster’s Nolan Show that a group of people gathered outside the estate agency last Friday.

Staff had been warned about the crowd and had pulled down the shutters in advance, but Mr McDowell said those outside tried to force their way into the building.

“It was a bit frightening; they started shouting ‘come out’ and rattling the shutters,” the estate agent said.

The police arrived and the crowd moved down the street, but the incident left staff shaken.

On Tuesday night, Mr McDowell received a phone call telling him that masked men had made at least two attempts to ram a car into his business and that a large crowd had gathered outside the premises.

“I’m sitting here in shock—totally shocked to be truthful—and a bit scared and very, very concerned for the people in that building,” he said.

He added his staff have expressed concerns about returning to work after the incidents.

“They’re worried about actually being in their own homes this evening because some of them live quite close by and close to our office, that this could spread and they themselves could be targeted because of where they work.”

The estate agency has been based in the area for about 30 years.

Mr McDowell told BBC News NI that false claims have circulated on social media claiming the business is providing homes for asylum seekers.

He says the claims are “one hundred percent totally untrue”.

“We just simply cannot accept them as tenants because they do not meet the simple, straightforward referencing,” he said.

He said his tenants require locally-based guarantors and references from other people who are residents of Northern Ireland before they can rent a home.

The estate agent explained he does rent homes to tenants who have come from overseas to work in Northern Ireland, including health staff.

He added that some of his tenants have been intimidated out of their homes due to racism.

“There’s one tenant who has said he’s had enough. He’s going back to Africa,” he said.

“I know of another family—there was a husband and wife, and I think they had one child—who returned to India.

“She was a nurse, but her house was targeted, and a sticker was put on the window, which made it very clear that because of where she was born, she wasn’t welcome in the area.”

The business owner added: “There’s a big difference between what we’d been accused of doing, which is housing asylum seekers, and—as I said—we can let houses to people who have a right to live here and work in Northern Ireland.

“As everybody knows who has visited a hospital or a care home or a nursing home recently, those businesses have been recruiting very heavily outside the UK, and people are travelling to Northern Ireland to work.

TUV councillor for North Belfast Ron McDowell said there are concerns among residents in the area about the state of housing and rent prices.

He added that residents are also concerned that asylum seekers are being housed in place of locals, but Mr McDowell said the owner of the estate agents was keen to stress he does not do this.

“That was his message he was keen to get out. I was enthusiastic to get people talking to get to the truth of what was going on to get some kind of resolution,” said Mr McDowell.

“If we don’t address people’s natural concerns, then the vacuum that’s created will be filled with extremism and racial attacks, and that’s what we see playing out on the streets.”

Mr McDowell said he did not know who was behind the attack on Tuesday night but urged people not to “give way to violence.”.

“Don’t give way to racism; keep our community united and highlight the issues properly.”

Claire Hanna, the MP for South Belfast, said it was the role of elected representatives to not just respond but to lead and to correct some of the misinformation and falsehoods spreading on social media.

“We know there are housing shortages because the executive has failed for a decade and more to build social housing,” she said.

“If you look at the stats, UK-wide – there is 66% less social housing than there was 20 years ago. And if you look at the in and out of people here, we only have 2,300 extra people – that’s the net impact of immigration. They are not the problem.”

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said six people including three young teenagers were arrested during the disorder on Tuesday which they are treating as racially motivated hate crimes.

Police said they received a report that a car had been hijacked by a group of masked men on Fingal Street at about 20:45 BST on Tuesday.

They said the vehicle was then “deliberately driven” at the front of a business on Woodvale Road, before gang left the scene.

Then shortly after 21:25 BST it was reported that masked men were smashing windows in Rathlin Street.

In a statement, Supt Allister Hagan said he wanted to reassure the community, adding that officers will maintain a visible presence in the area.

He said the incidents are being investigated as racially motivated hate crimes.

The latest violence followed nights of disorder in south Belfast on Saturday and Monday

Temporary Assistant Chief Constable Melanie Jones said: “For a third night, our officers dealt with incidents such as assaults, criminal damage, and arson in a challenging environment right across the city.”

Police say eggs were thrown at a shop on the Falls Road at about 18:10 and that staff inside were being racially abused by a group of young people.

A 15-year-old boy suffered minor facial injuries in the incident. “I have no doubt this was a terrifying incident for the young victim,” ACC Jones said.

“When police attended, a large group from the local community were outside to diffuse the situation.”

A 14-year-old boy was cautioned for offences such as common assault, disorderly behaviour, and criminal damage.

Three teenagers, two aged 16 and a 14-year-old boy, were arrested following reports of a group of young people wearing masks in the Shankill area.

They remain in police custody at this time.

“The scenes we have been seeing across Belfast over the last few days have been a disgrace and have no place in Northern Ireland,” said ACC Jones.

“We continue to engage with the groups affected by this criminality and hope these arrests show the community that we are taking action.

“Our Public Order Enquiry Team will continue to review footage to attempt to identify those involved, as well as those organising and orchestrating this disorder.”

The officer added that the PSNI has set up a Major Incident Public Portal for people to submit information, images and footage which they have gathered by mobile phone, dash cam or CCTV.

Officers remained on patrol in the area on Tuesday night.

Elsewhere in the city, part of the Newtownards Road was set on fire in east Belfast but police helped to dampen the flames.