The refusal has been described as 'deeply disappointing'
A Belfast City Councillor has said that he is extremely disappointed that the PSNI have refused to release figures on the number of reports they have received regarding street preachers in Belfast City Centre.
"What has been going on in the city centre, from many perspectives has been hate for many months now particularly culminating in what happened on Saturday which is disgusting." Alliance Party councillor Micky Murray said that there is a public interest in these figures being released. The latest version of those by-laws were passed by Council in June and will go out to public consultation.
Under the current proposals, anyone wishing to use a speaker system in the city centre would need to apply for a permit from Belfast City Council and would be limited to a two hour time period before having to move on at least 100 metres from where they started.Chief Inspector Neil Beck said: “We have received a number of reports in relation to street preachers in the Belfast area, some of which are being investigated. Where we are investigating, these may have been recorded as hate incidents.