Loyalist protesters set fire to police officer’s patrol car

Loyalists tried to kill a police officer when they set fire to his patrol car in Belfast last night.

A gang of 15 men tossed a petrol bomb into the unmarked vehicle after surrounding and smashing it outside the offices of Alliance Party MP Naomi Long.

It was the worst incident in another night of sporadic violence in parts of east and south Belfast involving loyalists protesting against a decision by Belfast City Council to restrict the flying of the union flag at Belfast City Hall.