Arlene Foster says more needs to be done for Northern Ireland

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Two armed men stormed a bus and then doused the vehicle in fuel before setting it alight on Monday morning. The shocking incident took place in the Abbot Drive area in the loyalist stronghold of Newtownards – 10 miles east of Belfast.

The bus driver escaped unharmed and no passengers were on board.

A police investigation is underway.

Chief Inspector Trevor Atkinson, of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, said: “Our investigation into this appalling incident is in its early stages and I would urge anyone with information to contact police.

“Alongside our criminal investigation, we will be stepping up our visible neighbourhood policing presence in this area in the coming days. This is to provide reassurance to the local community.

“I would also like to take the opportunity to echo the words of our local elected representatives in condemning this reckless and futile act of destruction.”

Stormont’s Infrastructure Minister, Nichola Mallon, claimed two masked men “muttered something about the protocol” during the arson attack.

DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said the party “will not be distracted by thugs and hoods” when it comes to post-Brexit arrangements.

The controversial Northern Ireland Protocol was created to prevent a hard border on the island of Ireland, but has divided many people across the UK and in Dublin.

The Protocol ties Northern Ireland to the EU regulatory framework when it comes to goods and services – and unionists argue this has effectively placed a trade barrier down the Irish Sea.

The attack coincides with the DUP threatening to collapse Stormont if major changes to the protocol had not been secured by a certain date.

Speaking following the incident, Sir Jeffrey said: “Anyone who believes for one moment that burning buses has any impact whatsoever in terms of our campaign to remove the Irish Sea border really isn’t living in the real world.

“These paramilitary elements are only harming their own community.”

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He added: “I am very clear, I will not be distracted by thugs and hoods.

“I will not be distracted by violence. I am totally focused on what I want to achieve, which is to get the best outcome for the people of Northern Ireland to have this Irish Sea border removed. Violence will not achieve that.”

Sir Jeffrey added he is now prepared to hold back on his threat to collapse Stormont to allow negotiations between the UK and EU to continue.

He said: “It would be churlish in the face of that progress to now move precipitously in relation to what I have warned about if we don’t get the outcome that we need.

“Now, I’m prepared to give a little more time for those negotiations to reach a conclusion and that conclusion has to mean agreement on the removal of the Irish Sea border.

“If that doesn’t happen, I expect the Government, as the Prime Minister said last week, to take unilateral action. The Prime Minister has said that the conditions exist to trigger Article 16 and I expect that to happen. If these things don’t happen, then I will act. I’ve made that absolutely clear.”

Brexit minister Lord Frost and European Commission vice-president Marcos Sefcovic are due to meet face-to-face on Friday.

The EU put forward proposals to slash checks on 80 percent of goods in Northern Ireland, but has so far refused to budge on the oversight of the European Court of Justice (ECJ).

Mr Sefcovic said he feared the UK was embarking on a “path of confrontation” in its refusal to back down on the role of the ECJ.

But Lord Frost, writing for the Policy Exchange think tank, said the EU had “destroyed cross-community consent” with an “overly strict” enforcement of the Protocol.
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