The London Times is reporting that a small portion of the 100 Romanians who fled racist attacks in Belfast earlier this year have now returned to Northern Ireland.

In June the press reported that the Romanian families had been subjected to a series of racially motivated attacks. Television news carried pictures of frightened families, some of them carrying infants, seeking refuge in churches and community centres.

"About a dozen of the 100 Romanians who left Northern Ireland are understood to have returned, and Naomi Long, the Lord Mayor of Belfast, said yesterday that they had given the city a vote of confidence. Callers to a popular radio phone-in programme, though, accused the authorities of being taken for a ride by paying the Roma for a 'freebie holiday'," said The Times.

According to Anna Lo, a member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for South Belfast, about 12 Roma men had now returned. "Ms Lo said that their families would follow soon, in time for their children to start the new school term this month. She confirmed that, in addition to their accommodation and flights home, the Roma were given about 100 pounds sterling each to cover their personal travel costs."

The Times reports that financial considerations were clealry uppermost in the minds of the returning Roma. "One man said that it was possible to earn about 330 pounds per week for 55 hours manual labour, a huge sum compared with back home. He added that most of the Roma had not wished to leave but that there was no other option at the height of the racist intimidation."

Sammy Wilson, the Northern Ireland finance minister, is quoted in the article as saying that he was "disturbed" by questions surrounding the return of the Roma. "I want to know the context in which they are coming back," he said. "The allegations the last time were that they were brought here by their own people to be exploited, put in totally unsatisfactory housing conditions and probably made to work for less than the minimum wage. I am not so sure that we want to encourage that kind of thing, because it brings not only problems for the people who come back but problems for society into which they come."