Londonderry: Explosive device sent to hotel

Justice Minister Naomi Long condemned the incident, calling it “abhorrent”.

“The viable device was placed in the vicinity of families and young people celebrating Halloween, Long said.

“It was an utterly shameful and dangerous act and the people behind it have shown absolutely no regard to the community or businesses affected,” she added.

She paid tribute to the police officers who responded to the incident, “once again putting themselves in harms’ way to ensure the safety of the public”.

Julie Middleton, Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) assembly member for Foyle, told BBC Radio Ulster’s Good Morning Ulster programme on Wednesday that she was “deeply disturbed and disgusted”.

“There is no excuse to leave a viable device anywhere at all, but in the middle of Ebrington Square, where you have people at their work, families out enjoying some half-term fun and tourists visiting and unfortunately this was designed to cause disruption and with any viable device, it was obviously designed to cause harm.”

Middleton said many children would also be in the vicinity enjoying the fun fair.

“To think anyone would place something like this near our children, or anyone for that matter, is just deeply wrong.”