Two men arrested under Terrorism Act in connection with Simon Coveney peace event bomb threat

Two men have been arrested in connection with a hijacking and security alert at a peacebuilding event in north Belfast attended by Irish Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney.

The men aged 46 and 51 were arrested under the Terrorism Act, one in Shankill area of Belfast, and the other in the Ballymena area.

Police say they have seized two suspected firearms, along with a vehicle and a van, which have both been taken away for examination.

Both men are currently being questioned in the Serious Crime Suite of Musgrave police station in Belfast.

Mr Coveney had been attending the Houben Centre on the Crumlin Road for an event organised by the John and Pat Hume Foundation.

He was giving a speech on peace-building but had to be removed from the building as the alert began.

A funeral taking place at the Holy Cross Church was also disrupted, with devastated mourners forced to stand in a car park for the remainder of the service.

After the alert, police said they believed the UVF was behind the planting of a hoax device in a van in north Belfast.

"At this early stage of the investigation, our assessment is that these crimes were carried out by loyalist paramilitary groups," ACC McEwan said at the time.

"We're keeping an open mind but one of the primary lines of investigation is the UVF."

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