Sinn Féin veteran Francie Molloy insisted his party colleague Martin McGuinness would be a hard act to follow after winning the Westminster seat vacated by Stormont’s deputy First Minister.

Police evacuated about 100 homes today after they discovered a “suspicious object”, reported to be three mortars, in a van, the Police Service of Northern Ireland said.

The race to succeed Martin McGuinness as MP for the Mid Ulster constituency has been confirmed as a four-way fight.