Public transport and businesses shut down amid fears of further violence

Public transport has shut down across Northern Ireland amid fears of further disorder.

Additional police officers will be on the streets after violence erupted on Tuesday night following a knife attack in Belfast.

The reaction to the attack saw groups of masked men set fire to houses, a bus and cars, mostly in the capital, forcing a number of families to flee their homes. Petrol bombs were also thrown at police in a number of locations.

Some schools closed early on Wednesday ahead of any potential disruption, and Belfast city centre is deserted after many businesses shut up shop by lunchtime.

Public transport operator Translink said services would be suspended, with buses stopping at 17:00 and trains at 18:00.

Hadi Alodid, a 30-year-old originally from Sudan, appeared in court on Wednesday charged with attempted murder over an attack that caused serious injuries to the victim, Stephen Ogilvy.

Ogilvy, who is in his 40s, has lost his left eye and has damage to his right eye, along with injuries to his neck and back.

Reaction to the attack, and the alleged attacker's ethnicity, prompted calls for protests on Tuesday evening in many parts of Northern Ireland.

The victim's family has appealed for "peaceful protest as the only way forward" and said there were "many migrants who make a deeply valuable contribution to our society".

In other developments:

• Two police officers were injured as they tackled the violence in Belfast on Tuesday night
• Two men have been been charged - a 42-year-old was charged with riot, attempted criminal damage and assault, and a 39-year-old man was charged with riot
• There were also three arrests as two police officers and three members of the public were injured in Glasgow after the unrest spread to Scotland
• Lord Mayor of Belfast, Sinn Féin's Róis-Máire Donnelly, said she had received death threats
• The Stormont Executive held an emergency online meeting

Some schools in Belfast and the surrounding areas have closed early but the Department of Education said there was no blanket decision to close all schools.

There was "some anecdotal evidence of a decrease of pupil attendance" following the overnight disturbances in Northern Ireland, Stormont's education minister has said, although A-level and GCSE exams were "continuing as normal".

Paul Givan told the Northern Ireland Assembly's education committee that the fall in attendance was "particularly among newcomer population" - those pupils for whom English or Irish is not their first language.

The Royal College of Nursing said some staff had been "stopped by masked men" when trying to get into work on Tuesday night.

RCN director Rita Devlin said: "They have been asked to show their credentials to masked men. They have been unable to get into work."

She said some of these nurses were from overseas and were "absolutely petrified".

Devlin called for all essential workers to be allowed safe passage to work.

"We simply could not run our services without them. If all our internationally educated nurses left tomorrow, our system would grind to a halt," she added.

Many of the protests on Tuesday, in areas such as Ballymena, Londonderry and Antrim, saw people peacefully block roads.

However, scenes of violence emerged at protests in Belfast, Newtownabbey and Portadown.

Some of the worst scenes were in Belfast, particularly in the Newtownards Road, where a Translink Glider bus was set on fire, and Crumlin Road areas.

At one stage a masked group of about 100 people made their way down the Newtownards Road attacking houses and setting fire to vehicles – including a bus.

One man, whose home of 13 years was destroyed by fire, said watching it burn down was "a feeling I'll never get over".

The fire service said it was called to 62 incidents on Tuesday night, most of them in the Belfast area.

Speaking at Westminster during Prime Minister's Questions, Sir Keir Starmer said people are rightly sickened by the horrific attack on Monday night in north Belfast.

"But let me be clear Mr Speaker, the acts of violence and arson that followed are totally unjustified," he added.

The prime minister said he had spoken on Wednesday morning to Northern Ireland's first and deputy first ministers and the PSNI chief constable.

"We are united in calling for calm and determined to restore order, support the police and all those on the front line, and ensure that justice is done," he added.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said the scenes were "deeply disturbing", adding that people have a "right to be angry" and the right to "expect politicians to secure our borders".

"But no-one has a right to burn families out of their homes or to burn public property and attack the police."

Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn said it was now down to people who participated in disorder to decide whether they want to continue to "leave children absolutely terrified as they're taken out into the dark with flames and screaming around them".

PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher called on people to not get "carried away with a tide" of views online and be "persuaded by people who know nothing about Northern Ireland".

"Stop listening to these idiots. We will be going after them for the incitement they will be doing."

Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O'Neill described Tuesday's violence as "disgusting cowardice" and "thuggery", while Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly said it was "absolutely unacceptable".