Ulster Unionist Justice spokesperson, Doug Beattie MC MLA, has condemned those responsible for the vicious attacks on police officers in west Belfast on Saturday night.
Mr Beattie said:
“The attacks on police officers in west Belfast on Saturday night were horrific. The level of organised violence inflicted on those officers was vicious and sustained. This should be totally unacceptable in any society, but unfortunately it is happening too often and those responsible are hiding in the shadows as young men do their bidding.
“We as a society should be asking ourselves where does this end? What can be done to send out a clear message that this is not acceptable? If 29 police officers were injured in one night of violence in any other part of the United Kingdom, there would be uproar.
“It is now time these wanton acts of violence, included attempted murder, received the full force of the law with sentences befitting the crime.
“These groups, with a rabid ideology that wield coercive control over their communities, need to be dismantled. We must identify the main thugs and put them before the courts. This means starting at the top to target the organisers to decapitate these criminal gangs.”