Reid cuts holiday to deal with school protest

The Northern Ireland Secretary, John Reid, has cut short his holiday to deal with the violence at the Holy Cross School in the Ardoyne area of North Belfast.

The loyalist paramilitary Red Hand Defenders has claimed responsibility for this morning’s blast bomb attack on Catholic schoolchildren making their way to school in the area.

Four RUC officers were injured when the bomb was thrown as police escorted the children and their parents to the school.