‘Suspect device’ discovery following van hijacking halts speech by Simon Coveney in Belfast

A Belfast speech by the Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney was interrupted on Friday morning after a “suspect device” was found in the car park of the venue.

A van had been hijacked and a canister or device put in the back. The driver was ordered to drive it to the Houben Centre on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast, where the event was taking place.

Fr Gary Donegan of Holy Cross church – which is beside the Houben Centre – said the driver had been hijacked “at gunpoint” and was “very shocked”.

Mr Coveney later said in a tweet: “Saddened and frustrated that someone has been attacked and victimised in this way and my thoughts are with him and his family.”

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A Department of Foreign Affairs spokesman said: “The Minister and team are safe, have been taken to a secure location and the PSNI are in control of the situation.”

Sarah McKinley of Downtown/Cool FM radio, who was among those evacuated from the venue, told The Irish Times she had seen the victim of the hijacking who was a “workman, clutching a toolbag standing outside, he was completely shellshocked”.

“He said he had been hijacked and told to drive to the centre.”

Fr Donegan, who introduced Mr Coveney at the event on Friday morning, said the Minister had been speaking for about five minutes when “the close protection people started beckoning towards me … he said, ‘Father, a man’s been hijacked at gunpoint and there’s a van in the grounds with a possible device in it’.

“Immediately we had to go to the minister and he was in the middle of it, it was reminiscent of George Bush, 9/11 type of thing, told you need to get out of here.

“The close protection people got him away and then we evacuated the Houben Centre – ironically, a peace hub that straddles both sides of the community,” he said.

A funeral which had been due to take place at Holy Cross church was disrupted. Fr Donegal said the parish priest, Fr John Craven, had “adapted brilliantly and did some kind of service in the lower car park”.

“You think of the disruption that’s taking place, and the fact that a funeral, and you think of a family grieving, you just think of the mindlessness of people who on a day that we were remembering people who brought us in a great part to where we are today … we’re here since 1869 and even in the worst of the Troubles no funeral was ever stopped.”

Sources at the scene said it was believed the van had been hijacked on the Shankill Road, a loyalist area. This has not been confirmed by police.

Some loyalists have been critical of Irish ministers, including Mr Coveney and the Tánaiste Leo Varadkar, over what they claim has been their role in the Northern Ireland protocol, and there are posters criticising them in some loyalist parts of Belfast.

Mr Coveney had been delivering a speech on the theme “building common ground” at an event organised by the John and Pat Hume Foundation.

‘Twisted and deranged’

The SDLP MP Claire Hanna, who was also at the event and was among those evacuated, said the ethos of the event had been about reconciliation and the audience was “to a man and a woman, people of good faith who have engaged in reconciliation from all political backgrounds … talking about how we can move forward together.

“To attack that just shows how twisted and deranged an ideology this is, and the message is these same people who were in that room stood against that for many years and will continue to do so. People who attempt to intimidate and divide will not succeed,” she said.

The event organiser, Tim Attwood, said the Foundation was “more committed than ever to ensure that those who think they can achieve their goals through violent means, they are history.

“The only way, as John Hume said, is through peace, non violence, dialogue and partnership.

“We’re upset that the community in Ardoyne and Twaddell has been put under security risk and we apologise for that, but it doesn’t deter the work of the Foundation,” he said.

A 400-metre cordon remained in place on Friday lunchtime around the scene of the alert, and there is significant disruption to traffic.

Mr Coveney had to leave the stage at the Houben Centre in north Belfast after a message was relayed to him while speaking.

The Minister interrupted his speech saying, “I’m afraid I have to leave, I hope I’ll be back in a few minutes, you’ll just have to understand that.” The building was then evacuated.

He had told the event: “The patient work of reconciliation and deepening of relationships does need to continue on our own island.”

Mr Attwood told the PA news agency that the security alert is a reminder “to everyone that there is no role in our society for violence”.

He added: “A suspect device will not stop the work of the John and Pat Hume Foundation.”

In a statement, the PSNI said: “Police are currently in attendance of a security alert at the Crumlin Road area of north Belfast. Motorists are advised to avoid the area and seek alternative main routes for their journey. There are no further details at this stage.” – Additional reporting Reuters/PA