Social media calls for anti-Islamic protests in Northern Ireland this weekend are being investigated by police.
Posts have circulated urging people to take to the streets here, following violent demonstrations around England in the wake of the stabbings in Southport.
Assistant Chief Constable Bobby Singleton said he was aware of a social media post calling for a gathering at Belfast City Hall and a subsequent protest march.
Officers are working to establish if the calls will materialise in protests on the ground.
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Chief Constable Jon Boutcher urged people to push back against what he branded “poisonous nonsense” from anti-Islamists.
At yesterday’s Policing Board meeting, Mr Boutcher was asked if he was aware of posts calling on people to attend a series of anti-Islamic events on Saturday.
“We are aware of it, we’re still trying to understand who’s behind it,” he said.
“There’s no set organisation showing themselves on social media which sort of defines the cowardly nature of the people who do this nonsense.
“There is obviously, from the social media calling, an intention to try and do something on Saturday.
“We have got a gold (command) structure in place around this.
“We’re looking into the intelligence now to see who, if anybody, is actually involved and going to respond to this.”
PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher speaking during a meeting of the Northern Ireland Policing Board in Belfast (Liam McBurney/PA)
His comments came after two nights of disorder in England following the fatal stabbing of three young girls in Southport on Monday.
Violent unrest erupted in Southport as well as in London, Hartlepool and Manchester.
“I would point people to what happened in London yesterday and Hartlepool, and obviously Southport, this is based on poisonous nonsense,” Mr Boutcher said.
“It has no basis in a society that’s seen what hatefulness can do to a society and I would appeal for everybody, everybody to push back against any of this utter awful nonsense.
“But if there is going to be any gatherings, we will police them and we will police them effectively.”
Mr Singleton, meanwhile, warned that any march needed the permission of the Parades Commission. No request had been lodged as of yesterday evening.
“I’d advise that if anybody was planning on attending that, the fact that that’s not notified, of course, could mean that they could see themselves liable to a criminal investigation,” he said.
It came as Sir Keir Starmer (left) condemned “far-right hatred” in the wake of the Southport stabbings.
The Prime Minister announced a new “national” response to the violent disorder linking police forces across the country.
He said “thugs” involved in the scenes of unrest should not “pretend they are speaking” for the grieving families of the three young girls killed in the initial attack.
At a press conference following riots in which bricks were hurled at police officers and a local mosque targeted, Sir Keir warned: “The far right are showing who they are — we have to show who we are in response to that.”
The Prime Minister also sounded a note of caution to social media companies after misinformation spread online about the identity of the 17-year-old suspect, including false claims that he was an asylum seeker.
“Let me also say to large social media companies and those who run them: violent disorder, clearly whipped up online, that is also a crime, it’s happening on your premises, and the law must be upheld everywhere,” he said.
Sir Keir, a former director of public prosecutions, also warned that speculating about the attack could risk prejudicing the active criminal proceedings against the suspect and impeding justice for the bereaved families.
Asked what his message was to Muslims who may be concerned after a mosque was targeted in the violence in Southport, he said: “In relation to the Muslim community, let me be very clear: I will take every step that’s necessary to keep you safe.”