Sectarian hate gets all clear from PSNI

In the wake of a number of incidents of loyalist flute bands and their supporters openly engaging in hate and intimidation, the PSNI have said that anti-Catholic chanting and singing is not illegal in the north of Ireland.

This week, the PSNI police insisted no offences were committed after a video emerged of a band playing a notorious sectarian song at an Irish football club’s social venue. The video, which first circulated in August, showed a band playing ‘The Billy Boys’ as a number of people sang along in Coleraine FC’s social club. It includes the line “we’re up to our knees in Fenian blood”.

On the video, a man waved British flags, while ‘Welcome to Coleraine Social Club’ signs and the club crests could be seen above the bar in the background.

Chants of “F*** the Pope and Virgin Mary” were also heard during one song in the footage recorded at the club.

The song is linked to the ‘razor gangs’ of the 1920s led by Glasgow-based loyalist Billy Fullerton, who went on to join Britain’s Hitler-supporting fascist organisation and established a branch of the Ku Klux Klan in Scotland.

The PSNI initially claimed they had made enquiries into “a sectarian-motivated hate incident” at the club but later declared that no offences had been committed.

The PSNI has also ignored anti-Catholic tunes played at a supposed ‘cultural day’ at a building owned by Belfast City Council. Hate-filled loyalist anthems including the ‘Billy Boys’ and also ‘No Pope of Rome’ were played during an event hosted at Belvoir Activity Centre, in south Belfast, on Saturday.

‘No Pope of Rome’ is a sectarian tune, which mocks the Catholic faith. It’s typically sung with the lyrics “No, no Pope of Rome, no chapels to sadden my eyes. No nuns and no priests, f*ck your Rosary beads, every day is the Twelfth of July”.

Last month, Six County ‘Justice Minister’ Naomi Long claimed that there was “insufficient time and resources” to introduce a standalone hate crime bill, but promised “reforms” through other legislation.

An SDLP Assembly member has now called for clearer hate crime laws . Cara Hunter, who represents East Derry, where the Coleraine incident took place, said: “Given the video footage of the deeply sectarian singing which took place at this event I cannot fathom how the PSNI have reached this decision.

“We cannot allow hate speech to go unchecked and there needs to be consistency from police around these kinds of offences.

“This again highlights the dire need for standalone hate crime legislation which clearly defines what constitutes a hate incident and when a crime has taken place.”

Urgent Appeal