Brian Kingston condemns Shankill Road arson after hall gutted

A former gospel hall on shankill road was gutted early Saturday after a fire police are treating as arson with a race hate motive. The fire service arrived just after 2.45am, forced entry and used a drone and jets to tackle the blaze. No injuries were reported.

Brian Kingston on the attack

Brian Kingston, a DUP MLA, said: "This is an appalling crime, which the police are treating as arson, and as having a race hate motive". He also said those behind social media misinformation "bear considerable responsibility for what has occurred" and urged anyone with information about the attack to bring it to the PSNI.

Kingston said the former Gospel Hall closed five years ago and had stood unused since. He said it was bought by an Indian couple who had lived in London for many years and now live in Northern Ireland, and that they wanted to turn it into a supermarket specialising in Indian foods, vegetables, rices and spices, but not meat.

PSNI and fire service response

The fire service said the blaze was caused by deliberate ignition to the roof. The building was totally gutted. On Saturday, the PSNI began enquiries and kept a police presence in the area while officers examined what happened inside and around the former hall.

Shankill Road regeneration work

Kingston said he had been liaising with the owner, the PSNI, Belfast City Council and the Housing Executive to have the building secured. He said the damage went beyond one property, saying the fire undermined work to bring derelict buildings back into use and maintain the ribbon shops along the road. "I appeal for no further incidents," he said.