Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney has been evacuated from a meeting in North Belfast Friday morning after the discovery of a suspect device in a vehicle outside the Houben Centre.
Mr. Coveney was speaking at a meeting of the Hume Foundation – named in honour of the late John Hume and his wife Pat – when his keynote address was interrupted and his security team soon rushed him the building.
Prominent local priest and campaigner, Fr. Gary Donegan, asked attendees to evacuate the centre due to the bomb scare.
It is understood the suspect device was discovered in a vehicle left in the shared carpark of the Houben Centre and Holy Cross Church.
A funeral is taking place at the church at the time of writing.
Police are in attendance and have implemented a 400-metre exclusion zone around the building.
Hume Foundation Secretary Tim Attwood said: "The police have advised all people attending to vacate the centre and there's disruption to the local community as well, which we deeply regret.
"We're 24 years on from the Good Friday Agreement – the dark days of past are long gone and people are fully committed now to peaceful change through non-violent and political means.
"The message of the Minister this morning – in the short message he was able to make – and the message of the John and Pat Hume Foundation is that's the only way forward.
"If there's a need for change you do it through peaceful means, through dialogue and reconciliation."
A PSNI spokesperson said: "Police are currently in attendance of a security alert at the Crumlin Road area of North Belfast this morning (Friday 25th March).
"Motorists are advised to avoid the area and seek alternative main routes for their journey.
"There are no further details at this stage."
