Northern Ireland

Tory MP Simon Hoare says loyalist violence threat 'incredibly worrying'

Loyalist Communities Council member Joel Keys told Westminster's NI Affairs Committee that violence was, in certain cirsumstances, 'the only tool you have left'.
Loyalist Communities Council member Joel Keys told Westminster's NI Affairs Committee that violence was, in certain cirsumstances, 'the only tool you have left'. Loyalist Communities Council member Joel Keys told Westminster's NI Affairs Committee that violence was, in certain cirsumstances, 'the only tool you have left'.

The head of the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee has described as "incredibly worrying" a claim that loyalist violence as a response to the NI Protocol is a "last resort".

Committee chairman Simon Hoare MP was reacting to statements made by a representative of the Loyalist Communities Council (LCC), 19-year-old Joel Keys, who spoke before the Westminster committee yesterday, saying he could not "rule it (violence) off the table".

Mr Keys was one of a number of LCC members, including group chair David Campbell, invited to speak before the committee as part of its inquiry into the NI Protocol, which keeps the north aligned to the rules of the EU Single Market to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland.

The LCC is an umbrella group representing the proscribed loyalist paramilitary organisations the UVF, UDA and Red Hand Commando. It is demanding the scrapping of the Protocol due to its placing a trade border between the north and Great Britain.

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The committee quizzed the LCC representatives on comments they previously made, including an online post by Mr Keys last month in which he wrote: "To say violence is never the answer is massively naive, sometimes violence is the only tool you have left."

The 19-year-old, on whose Twitter profile he describes himself as a "democrat" and "future MLA", told Simon Hoare that he stood by the comments.

"You know there are certainly certain circumstances where violence is the only tool you have left," he said.

"For example, I don't think the people living under Kim Jong Un's sort of dictatorship is going to get anywhere with peaceful protests anytime soon."

Asked about violence relating to the sea border should the Protocol be deemed to be working successfully by both the UK and EU, Mr Keys replied: "I am not sure if and when and violence will be the answer. I'm just saying that I wouldn't sort of rule it off the table."

Simon Hoare asked the teen: "Do you appreciate, Mr Keys, that that's an incredibly worrying and dispiriting answer?", to which he replied: "Well, let me make it clear, I'm no fan of violence, I think that it has to be an absolute last resort.

He added: "I don't think we're anywhere near that point at the minute."