This footage was filmed and produced 24 November 2023.

Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris said elected politicians needed to be able to articulate the concerns of their electorate to combat the rise of far-right extremism.

Speaking in Dublin following riots in the city, Mr Heaton-Harris referred to the rise of the British National Party in England.

Asked if he was worried that similar scenes could occur in the UK, he said: “I would like to think we wouldn’t see that on any of our streets but actually we have in the past.

“I don’t think I’m in a position to suggest nothing like that could happen in the future, or indeed suggest to the Irish as to how they could and should react to the pressures they have in this space.”

Mr Heaton-Harris added: “On the rise of the far right, it is up to democratically elected politicians to be able to articulate the concerns of their electorate and we need to do that better.

“We had in English politics the rise of the British National Party only a few years ago, they were elected to the European Parliament, MEPs were elected to the European Parliament in two regions of the United Kingdom.

“We need to as a society have a proper debate about migration, immigration, what we need in skills and how we treat people and what pressures it brings to our domestic services. These need to be articulated by mainstream politicians because if we don’t articulate them then we do leave a vacuum for other people who might not be as benign as we are.”