PSNI chief examines arrest at wreath-laying ceremony

NI's chief constable is examining an incident at a commemoration for the victims of the 1992 attack at Sean Graham bookmakers in Belfast.

Uniformed officers arrested a man at the wreath-laying ceremony on the Ormeau Road on Friday afternoon.

Sinn Féin's Michelle O'Neill called it a "shameful display of policing".

Chief Constable Simon Byrne said he had spoken to the deputy first minister and police were "working to establish all the facts".

The BBC understands two officers were passing the bookmakers and saw a crowd of between 30 to 50 people. They waited until the event had ended to tell the crowd to disperse.

It is believed a disagreement broke out and one of the officers suffered what is being described as a mild bruising injury.

The PSNI are currently reviewing body-worn camera footage and have been in touch with the Police Ombudsman's office.

The wreath-laying event was organised to commemorate the 29th anniversary of the loyalist paramilitary gun attack in the bookmakers' shop.

Five people were killed when the Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF) opened fire in the shop on 5 February 1992.

Sinn Féin MLA Gerry Kelly said the man who was arrested on Friday was among those who had been injured in the shooting.

Mr Kelly said he was "shocked and appalled" by the arrest which he claimed was "heavy handed".

Northern Ireland is currently in a strict Covid-19 lockdown and large public gatherings are not permitted.

Police have recently been accused of inaction when large crowds gathered at both republic and loyalist funerals.

Mr Kelly said family members of the victims had gathered at the scene of the attack to "call for the publication of a delayed Police Ombudsman's report into the murder of their loved ones".

He criticised police actions and compared it to the PSNI's response when a large group of masked men gathered in east Belfast on Tueday night, in an incident linked to an internal row within the loyalist paramilitary group, the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF).