Northern Ireland Secretary welcomes united condemnation of violence

The wreckage of a Translink Metrobus on fire on the Shankill Road in Belfast (Liam McBurney/PA)

A united message of condemnation of recent violence in Northern Ireland has been welcomed by the Secretary of State.

Brandon Lewis denied that the UK Government had abandoned unionists through the new Brexit arrangements – one of the concerns inflaming tensions among loyalists that have sparked a week of violence, which police said has been on a scale not seen in recent years.