The attempted murder of Stephen Ogilvie in Belfast was a vile and terrifying crime. The violent response targeting people for the colour of their skin was vile and terrifying.

It was supposed to be a protest about lax immigration and asylum laws, but the rioters did not care about the migration status of those they targeted, just what they looked like.

Two Ugandan care workers, Sumayah Nakazibwe and Stella Ariokot, who were cowering in their home as flames devoured nearby houses, were advised to don their care uniforms as a protective measure.

Their Protestant pastor, Jack McKee, came to their rescue, bitterly exclaiming that he never thought to see the day when he would have to save Christian women from attack in a Protestant community. He had to persuade some 20 masked and stone-wielding rioters to let him in.

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“Suicidal empathy”, an ugly, dangerous phrase coined by Canadian academic Gad Saad, is one of the phrases currently deployed by the anti-migrant and anti-asylum seeker movement. It is the title of his latest book, which has featured in the New York Times........

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