Belfast buses cancelled, while some schools and businesses close amid rumours of 1pm protests - but community group hits out, saying nothing was planned and more demonstrations would be damaging
Belfast buses have been cancelled while some schools and businesses across Northern Ireland have closed amid rumours of 1pm protests.
Just before 12.30pm in the centre of the capital city, buses were reading “not in service” and bus stops carried a “service temporarily suspended” message instead of a timetable arriving routes.
Translink was contacted but has yet to reply, and by 1pm had not provided details of why the routes were axed or when they would be running again on its social media accounts.
It also hasn’t stated if the shutdown affects only the Metro routes that operate inside Belfast, or it wider bus and train services have been taken out of action.
Some business closed many hours earlier than normal after a message started circulating online that claimed more anti-immigration protests were going to happen across the province at 1pm.
It has been impossible to verify the provenance of the message, which appears to have been created using AI – but, in a similar manner to demands in a message circulating in advance of Tuesday night’s protests that turned violent, it stated: “All businesses to close at 11am, no exceptions.”
Businesses in the centre of Belfast that closed well before 1pm included branches of Dankse Bank, Greggs, and Hotel Chocolat, as well as a gift shop.
Several schools around the province announced they were closing early, though the Education Authority said would not be “practical or proportionate” to order all schools to shut on the back of what it described as “unverified social media claims about further planned protests today”.
The provincewide body did, however, instruct individual school leaders to “closely monitor the situation in their local area, and the commuting pathway for staff and pupils, and react as necessary and appropriate”.
Said a spokesperson: “We acknowledge that some schools may have to take individual decisions – for example, based on PSNI advice or local circumstances.”
A community group, the East Belfast Memorial Committee, issued a statement during the morning that declared there are “no planned shop closures or protests planned today for 1pm” but followed that a short while later with another describing the lunchtime demonstrations as “alleged” and said “concerns are growing” about them.
Hitting out at the idea of staging 1pm demonstrations, the group stated on social media: “We cannot support protests that cause significant disruption to ordinary people, particularly when they take place at times that impact families, schoolchildren, carers, and working people.
“With more schools now closing due to concerns around disruption, transport issues, and public safety, it is clear that the consequences are being felt by those who have no involvement in the issues being protested.
“Parents are being forced to make alternative arrangements, children with additional support needs are having their routines disrupted, and many workers simply cannot afford time away from their jobs. These are real impacts on real people.
“While individuals are entitled to campaign for causes they believe in, support for any cause is not strengthened when the burden falls on local communities, families, and vulnerable people. In many cases, it risks achieving the opposite effect by alienating those who may otherwise have been sympathetic.”