On 9 June, an uprising of far-right agitators took to the streets of Belfast. These white rioters burned vehicles and houses, fought with the police, and targeted the homes and businesses of people of colour. According to GB News host Bev Turner, however, you wouldn’t call this a “riot”:
A GB News presenter repeatedly insists "there weren't riots" in Belfast last night…
This is what GB News advertisers are aligning with
pic.twitter.com/lHAiC1SJO3
— Stop Funding Hate (@StopFundingHate) June 10, 2026
Shocking from GB News
We’re not sure who Bev Turner’s guest was, but the interview on GB News went like this:
Turner: There weren’t riots, there weren’t riots, there weren’t people marauding through the streets with pitchforks.
Frankenstein’s monster wasn’t there either, but these aren’t factors we use to define what a ‘riot’ is in the 21st century.
Guest: There was a house set on fire, Beverley. There was a house set on fire. We’ve seen numerous pictures of fires ablaze in Belfast. This is disgraceful, violent behaviour that is-
Turner: But there aren’t bodies piled up in hospitals tonight, Matthew.
Guest: Someone’s house being burnt down in a riot is not that dramatic? What are you saying, Bev? What words are you allowing out of your mouth?
Turner: There was no riot. There was no riot. There was no riot. There is not a house that has been burnt down. There are no riots. The police aren’t even reporting riots.
Okay, so here’s a video of a house being burned down in Belfast:
The rioters have set a house on fire in Belfast. pic.twitter.com/N7o8KpFtyb
— Mukhtar (@I_amMukhtar) June 9, 2026
Here are some more:
Families Flee As Belfast Homes Burn In Night Of Disorder pic.twitter.com/PXw01150XX
— A Troubled Land | Media | Archive | News – ATL (@ATroubledLand) June 10, 2026
Here is the aftermath:
In June 1920, Mussolini sent squadrismo to border towns to "cleanse" them of the Slavic "eternal barbarian." The fascists burned down buildings and attacked any apparent racial "other" for the "health of the nation." This border fascism pioneered other forms of fascist violence https://t.co/mujhKsuUj0
— John Duncan (@Johntheduncan) June 11, 2026
Still not convinced it was technically a ‘riot’?
What if we told you the police have been charging the men who rampaged across Belfast with the crime of ‘rioting’?
And this is the key factor in the legal definition of what constitutes a riot:
Where 12 or more persons who are present together use or threaten unlawful violence for a common purpose and the conduct of them (taken together) is such as would cause a person of reasonable firmness present at the scene to fear for his personal safety, each of the persons using unlawful violence for the common purpose is guilty of riot.
You can read the rest of the law here; we assure you there is nothing about pitchforks.
The rancid Bev Turner
Turner is the GB News host who notoriously gave sexual abuser Donald Trump the softest of softball interviews. As such, it’s unsurprising to see her defending the honour of racist rioters.
At the same time, it is shocking seeing her trying to get away with blatant lies like ‘no house burnt down’. And it’s a sign GB News knows the toothless Ofcom will never pull them up on their misinformation.
Featured image via Kate Green (Getty Images) / Charles McQuillan (Getty Images)
By Willem Moore
