PSNI provides update on Belfast bonfire site

The PSNI have said it has made a decision not to assist Belfast City Council in helping contractors remove material from a bonfire site in the city.

In Belfast, a city council committee voted on Wednesday to send contractors to remove the towering pyre on Meridi Street off the Donegall Road.

In a statement, it said: "The PSNI has taken the decision not to assist a request from Belfast City Council for the removal of material from a south Belfast bonfire site.

"Following comprehensive engagement with all relevant stakeholders, an evidence based assessment, and taking into consideration all of the risks associated with the removal, we have determined that police should not assist the proposed actions of Belfast City Council.

"This decision, which involved an examination of the legality, necessity and proportionality of the police involvement in the proposed action by Belfast City Council.

"This involved carefully balancing potentially competing statutory and human rights obligations."