security alert Man (41) arrested in connection with Simon Coveney hoax bomb attack

A 41-year-old man has been arrested in connection with a security alert which forced to Irish foreign minister Simon Coveney to evacuate a peace building event.

Terrorism Investigation Unit detectives, investigating a hijacking and security alert in north Belfast on March 25 have searched a residential property in north Belfast on April 13.

Detectives have subsequently arrested a 41-year-old man under the Terrorism Act.

The man is being questioned in the Serious Crime Suite of Musgrave police station in Belfast.

On March 25, Mr Coveney had to leave an event organised by the John and Pat Hume Foundation in north Belfast.

The Houben Centre, on the Crumlin Road, was evacuated and a funeral service at nearby Holy Cross church was disrupted.

Police said the driver of a van was threatened by two gunmen and forced to drive a device, which he believed to be a live bomb, to the church.

The attempted attack on Mr Coveney was a hoax, possibly carried out by the loyalist paramilitary group, the UVF, according to the PSNI.