Police remove anti-immigration sign from Co Tyrone village
By Jonathan McCambridge, PA
Police have removed an anti-immigration sign that was erected at the roadside in a Co Tyrone village.
The sign, which carried the message “no illegal immigrants for one mile” with an image of a number of people in a small boat, was visible on the footpath in Moygashel on Monday.
It was left close to an Orange arch across the main road in the village.
Police attended the scene shortly after 2.30pm and removed the sign.
The incident happened during a time of increased concern over racist attacks and race-related incidents in Northern Ireland.
Recent figures showed that the region reported the highest number of race-related incidents on record last year.
Some 1,411 such incidents were recorded in the 12 months from July 1 2023 to June 30 2024, according to the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (Nisra).
The latest figures were recorded before the recent spate of race-related incidents in August which followed anti-immigration protests in Belfast.
Unrest in Belfast and attacks on some businesses owned by people from minority ethnic backgrounds came at a time of tension across the UK following misinformation on social media after the murder of three young children in Southport.
