Last night's riots in Belfast were on a scale not seen in the Province for years, the police said. During several hours of violence, police officers were attacked, petrol bombs thrown and a bus burnt. Eight officers were injured at an interface between loyalist and nationalist areas in west Belfast. Senior police sources said there was no evidence of UVF organisational involvement in last night's trouble in west Belfast. Earlier, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) had suspected that individuals within the paramilitary group had encouraged some of the rioting. There are a number of factors prompting these appalling scenes, including the NI protocol. I sincerely hope this is not a return to the bad-old days. A brief from Cllr Tony Ferrari was most useful as I prepare to meet the Chancellor on Tuesday evening to lobby for our share of the Levelling Up Fund. At 1100 I met Ian Jackson and Dr Dawson, both from Tradebe Inutec, at our Association office to discuss a business matter. The specialist company treats low level radioactive waste and employs just over 60 staff on Enterprise Zone at Winfrith. It was an interesting meeting and I shall do what I can to help. I was due to be interviewed for the Chopper podcast, following my letter to the Daily Telegraph about the BBC's Today programme, but N Ireland took my place.