New attempt to defuse school row violence

Security chiefs were today meeting a school governors’ chief to discuss whether parents should continue taking their children through a volatile loyalist area in north Belfast where a blast bomb injured two police officers.

Father Aidan Troy, the governors’ chairman, held a crisis meeting with parents in the Ardoyne area last night after the device was thrown at police lines while terrified children were escorted to Holy Cross school yesterday morning.

After last night’s meeting, where it was decided Fr Troy should consult security chiefs, some parents vowed they would continue to take their children to school through the loyalist Upper Ardoyne.

Northern Ireland Secretary Dr John Reid was expected back in Belfast today after cutting short his holiday to help deal with the latest crisis in the North.

He claimed the vicious street disturbances were dragging the reputation of Northern Ireland around the world once again through the mud.

‘‘Young children have been subjected to appalling attacks, another generation introduced to the shameful side of our society,’’ he said.

‘‘Any legitimate grievances of protesters have been drowned out by this violent sectarian bigotry.’’

Three men are continuing to be questioned by police after the improvised blast bomb was thrown while the children were walking through the security cordon en route to the school on Wednesday.

The MP for the area, Nigel Dodds, of the Rev Ian Paisley’s Democratic Unionist Party, has urged the parents to take the alternative route through a Catholic boys secondary school to allow a breathing space for dialogue to take place.

There were some clashes between loyalist youths and the police in north Belfast last night, but nothing on the scale of the previous two evenings.

Efforts are continuing to find a way to resolve this latest dispute.

Security Minister Jane Kennedy, who held talks with political representatives from the area, afterwards released a statement appealing for the violence to end.

The Minister called for both sides to re-engage in discussions to bring this ‘‘current tense and dangerous situation’’ to an end.