SIR KIER Starmer has called on Boris Johnson to "step up" efforts to tackle recent street violence in the north as he raised concerns the British prime minister's Brexit promises are not being kept.
The Labour leader, a former human rights adviser to the Northern Ireland Policing Board, said yesterday that there is "no justification" for consecutive nights of disorder that have seen dozens of police officers injured.
He told Mr Johnson to find "pragmatic political solutions" over the rioting.
The Tory leader has said he is "deeply concerned" by the violent scenes and called for calm, adding: "The way to resolve differences is through dialogue, not violence or criminality."
The violence unfolded amid increasing political tensions over the trade border in the Irish Sea caused by Mr Johnson's Brexit agreements with Brussels, as well as fallout from the police's handling of the Bobby Storey funeral.
Sir Keir said: "This is about leadership and the prime minister can't be absent.
"He needs to convene talks urgently to find pragmatic political solutions to reduce this violence."
Asked if he thinks the violence is a consequence of Brexit, the Labour leader said there were concerns in the north both about Brexit and "promises that the prime minister made which haven't been kept".
He said neither justified violence.
"What the prime minister needs to do now is step up, show leadership, convene all-party talks and talk to the government of Ireland of course as well, and resolve this with pragmatic political solutions," he said.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin condemned the violence that has taken place for much of the last week, stressing that the only way for people to address issues of concern is "through peaceful and democratic means". The attacks on a journalist and bus driver, he said, were deeply concerning and in no one's interests.
He said it was time for the two governments and leaders on all sides to "work together to defuse tensions and restore calm".
"My government has listened to and will continue to listen to and engage with the views of all communities in Northern Ireland but the way to address genuine issues of concern is through peaceful and democratic means," he said.
Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney described Wednesday night's scenes in Belfast as "shocking".
"The day after tomorrow we are recognising 23 years of one of the most resilient peace processes anywhere in the world," he told RTE Morning Ireland.
"This is a time of real tension in Northern Ireland, unfortunately, that political leaders and community leaders need to respond to, like they have done in the past, to defuse tensions and come together rather than have a go at each other."
In reference to the trouble on Lanark Way, he said: "To see attempts to incite a response at an interface area to try to spread the violence beyond the loyalist community into the nationalist community is worrying – this needs to stop before someone is killed or very seriously injured."
Former secretary of state Lord Peter Hain said the prime minister should address the ongoing unrest by arranging an immediate meeting with the European Union.
"What Boris Johnson should be doing, and his chief lieutenant Lord Frost, is getting into that committee with Brussels and sorting this out and they haven't done that yet," he told Sky News
"This was triggered by lorries having to be checked leaving Belfast and by other checks and controls across the Irish Sea between England, Scotland and Wales, and Northern Ireland even though they're all part of the United Kingdom."
