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NEW statement to me from a loyalist woman writing for the Her Loyal Voice group: “It was devastating to see supposedly loyalist groupings and individuals engage in Islamophobic violence. Loyalism is a class based political ideology based on four key principles. These include; material wellbeing, civil and religious liberty, and equal citizenship. If these principles mean anything at all they must mean that asylum seekers, refuges and migrants are welcome. We want our migrant and minority ethnic neighbours, in particular our Muslim neighbours to know that we stand four-square behind their right to be here, to live in safety, and to make this country their home. If you are from a migrant background we want you to know that we are proud you chose to make NI your home and thankful you chose NI to contribute your talents and energies to. That is why weendorsed the anti-fascist rally at City Hall on the 3rd of August and why we are endorsing the “Belfast Welcomes Diversity”rally planned for this Saturday leaving Writer’s Square at 11am. We are thankful to the organisers of these events. We condemn the lack of leadership from political and civic Unionism. At the time of writing the Loyal Orders, who are a global movement with many black members, have issued no condemnatory statement. If the Loyalist Communities Council issued a statement condemning the Islamophobic riots it would have a major impact, no statement has been forthcoming.   Most condemnations that have been made are conditional. It was not always this way. During the Troubles and into the post GFA period the UVF, UDA and their political wings produced a rich seam of radical political thought that was at ideological odds with the views of the British far-right.  Grassroots Loyalists need to be aware of our own radically progressive history and interrogate who benefits from racist and Islamophobic incidents in our community so we can more effectively stamp out hate and also protect Loyalist young people from grooming and radicalization by hate groups.  Loyalists have been consistently engaged in anti-racist activity over the past 20 years. • 2003 following a spate of racist attacks in South Belfast the PUP and UPRG announced an initiative aimed at ending the attacks. The UPRG leader stated ‘we will make sure [racists] are ostracized within the Loyalist Community’. • 2003 PUP organized an anti-racist conference in Ballymena.  • 2003 Billy McCaughey of the PUP lead a door to doorcampaign against the presence of the Far Right in Ballymena. • PUP in the Monkstown area organized a weekend residential on anti-racism for local community activists. • 2004 Following attacks on people from the Chinese community then PUP leader David Ervine said ‘we can’t stand on the same ground as those who are avowed racists’. • UDA/UPRG members responded to racist attacks in the South and East Belfast areas by standing guard outside the targeted houses for successive nights. • 2004 many Loyalist groups are part of the South Belfast Roundtable on Racism. • 2005 the Loyalist Commission launched a new anit-racist poster and leaflet campaign. The new campaign was supported by both the PUP and UPRG who said in a joint statement ‘racism has no part in [our] tradition, heritage or faith’.  • BNP leader Nick Griffin was put out of the Steeple Estate by the PUP in 2012. • The BNP was told by organisers of the 2014 UVF Larne Gunrunning commemoration that they were not welcomeand the BNP was prevented from attending.