Loyalist Arrested Over Irish Foreign Minister Fake Bomb Alert Denied Bail

In this file image, officers from the Police Service of Northern Ireland looks across at Holy Cross church at The Houben Centre, Belfast, on March 25, 2022. Liam McBurney/PA Media

A Belfast court on Saturday denied the bail of high-profile loyalist Winston Irvine who is charged with firearm offences.

The 46-year-old man former Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) head of communications was arrested on Wednesday as part of an investigation into a separate hoax bomb incident that led to the evacuation of Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney from a peace event on March 25.