We must talk about the ‘challenges’ of immigration, says community worker

There is a “perception” in some communities that immigrants are “entitled to everything when they arrive” and that they receive certain benefits in preference to local residents, a Belfast community worker has said.

Emma Shaw is the executive director of the Phoenix Education Centre which works to tackle educational underachievement in the east of the city.

She took part in a discussion on the BBC’s Evening Extra programme about why hundreds of people in the area got involved in violence protests on Tuesday.

“I’m not condoning anybody’s behaviour, but I’m what I am saying is we need to understand the context as to why it happens,” she said.