Simon Coveney removed from Belfast venue during security alert

Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney has been evacuated from a building in north Belfast amid a security alert.

He was giving a peace-building talk at the Houben Centre on the Crumlin Road, when a van was reportedly hijacked and driven to the venue.

Mr Coveney said he was "saddened and frustrated someone has been attacked and victimised in this way".

SDLP MP Claire Hanna said the event ended abruptly when the minister's security ushered him from the building.

"We understand a vehicle was hijacked and explosives or something purporting to be explosives was driven to the venue," she said.

Police have advised motorists to avoid the area and seek alternative routes.

Ms Hanna added: "People are frustrated.

"The irony is lost on nobody that this was an event about reconciliation, about common ground with a genuinely diverse audience of people.

"That it has been disrupted in such an aggressive way is appalling".

A large crowd, including a number of politicians, were at the event, which was organised by the John and Pat Hume Foundation.

The Houben Centre is located at the interface of the Ardoyne and Shankill - it operates as a cross-community centre and also the parish centre for the Holy Cross church.