Northern Ireland

Call for action after UDA flag put up in mixed area of south Belfast

UDA flag at Bests Hill in south Belfast
UDA flag at Bests Hill in south Belfast

Concerns have been raised after a UDA flag was put up in a mixed housing development in south Belfast.

It is understood the offensive flag was recently put up in the Bests Hill area of Newtownbreda.

UDA flag in south Belfast
UDA flag in south Belfast

The flag includes the letters UDA, the paramilitary organisation which was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of people during the Troubles.

SDLP MLA Matthew O'Toole
SDLP MLA Matthew O'Toole

South Belfast SDLP assembly member Matthew O'Toole has raised concerns about the latest paramilitary flag.

Similar loyalist flags have been hung from lampposts in the area in recent weeks.

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Loyalist paramilitary flags outside Tesco creating a 'chill factor' for shoppers

Concerns were also raised after UDA flags appeared outside a Tesco store in Newtownbreda, which is nearby.

Mr O'Toole said local people are opposed to the flags.

“There should be nowhere in our community or our society where people are forced to live under the banners of paramilitary organisations involved in criminality," he said.

"This is an increasingly diverse area where people are happy to live side by side and are appalled that UDA flags that have gone up."

Mr O'Toole said he has contacted the PSNI.

"We have contacted police and asked for immediate action to have the banners removed in line with the wishes of the people who live here.”

Mr O'Toole's party colleague Donal Lyons previously said political leadership was needed to tackle the blight of unwanted flags after they appeared around the local Tesco store.

"They cause anxiety and creates a question about the rule of law. These people put the flags up without fear of interruption," he said.

"It just seems to undermine that concept that we live in a society where everybody plays by the same rules."

A PSNI spokesperson told the Irish News: "Police are aware of a number of flags in the Bests Hill area of Castlereagh.

"The removal of flags is not the responsibility of the Police Service nor do we have a specific power to do so and we will only act to remove flags where there are assessed risks to public safety owing to their erection.

"We will continue to work with local communities and partners to find long term solutions to the issues surrounding the flying of flags."