Belfast knife attack prompts Conor McGregor’s call for immigration halt
Conor McGregor has demanded an immediate halt to “immigration from the third world” and called for the deportation of “all illegal entrants” in the wake of a knife attack in Belfast allegedly carried out by a Sudanese migrant, reports BritPanorama.
The UFC star took to X on Tuesday, the day following the incident, urging authorities to “close the borders.” In a further post, the Irish fighter insisted that migrants “cannot come here any longer.”
McGregor has long been vocal on immigration matters, warning previously that Ireland risked “potentially losing its Irishness” due to an “illegal immigration racket” impacting the nation.
The attack, which occurred on Monday evening around 10:30 p.m. in north Belfast, involved disturbing footage showing the alleged assailant standing over a bloodied victim while brandishing a knife. Witnesses reported that onlookers screamed as the attacker appeared to make a sawing motion, with some claiming, “he’s trying to cut his head off.” Officers recovered a kitchen knife from the scene, while the victim, identified locally as Stephen Ogilvie, remains in serious condition in hospital.
The accused, a 30-year-old asylum seeker with indefinite leave to remain, has been charged with attempted murder and was due to appear in court today. He had travelled by bus from Dublin to Belfast three years ago under arrangements permitting passport-free movement, immediately claiming asylum upon arrival. The Home Office subsequently granted him a five-year refugee visa within months of his arrival.
Following the arrest, violent disorder erupted across Belfast on Tuesday night as hundreds of masked individuals set fire to properties and vehicles. Reports indicate that non-white residents may have been deliberately targeted. Protesters allegedly focused on Houses in Multiple Occupation, which some claim are being used to accommodate migrants at public expense.
Harrowing footage emerged showing infants being carried from neighbouring homes as flames consumed properties around them. Shortly before 8 p.m., men clad in black pushed burning bins against a bus, igniting it and sending plumes of smoke skyward. Residential properties, motor vehicles, and a Middle Eastern supermarket were subsequently torched.
Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) assistant chief constable Ryan Henderson cautioned that such disorder “damages communities, damages local businesses and brings young people into the criminal justice system when they shouldn’t be.” Northern Ireland’s First Minister Michelle O’Neill denounced the “outright thuggery,” describing “groups of masked men burning families out of their homes” as “nothing less than disgusting cowardice.”
Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly highlighted that “violence does not advance any cause; it damages it,” while former First Minister Arlene Foster noted that “genuine fears in working-class communities regarding immigration had been overshadowed” by the rioting.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the scenes as “shocking and completely unacceptable,” vowing that “those responsible will feel the full force of the law.” The unrest has drawn attention beyond local borders, with figures like Tesla chief Elon Musk and hard-right activist Tommy Robinson calling for protests across the United Kingdom.
This incident serves as a stark reminder of how quickly tensions can escalate, with a single act of violence fanning the flames of long-standing societal issues, intertwining the personal with the political in a way that is all too familiar in contemporary Britain.
