Belfast courts evacuated after suspected letter bomb found

A suspected letter bomb addressed to a senior judge has been intercepted at the law courts in Belfast.

The device, if proved viable, would be the fifth of its kind discovered in Northern Ireland in less than a week. The latest security alert forced the evacuation of the courts in the Chichester Street area of the city centre.

Dissident republicans opposed to the peace process have been blamed for the spate of letter bombs. None of the devices has detonated.

On Tuesday the seat of the Northern Ireland Executive at Stormont Castle was evacuated after a viable letter bomb addressed to Secretary of State Theresa Villiers was found.

On Monday a similar device was delivered to the offices of the Public Prosecution Service in Londonderry.

Late last week two explosive packages – one addressed to Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) Chief Constable Matt Baggott and the other to one of his senior commanders – were intercepted at Royal Mail offices in Belfast and Lisburn.