Michelle O’Neill accuses DUP minister of inflaming racial tensions on social media

Staff and customers, including children learning to swim, were at the leisure centre in Larne at the time of Wednesday’s attack. Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

Northern Ireland’s first minister has accused a DUP politician of inflaming tensions after a leisure centre in Larne was set on fire.

Gordon Lyons, the communities minister, should “consider his position”, Michelle O’Neill said. Hours before the centre was set on fire by a mob of masked youths on Wednesday, Lyons had posted on social media that the building was being used to accommodate several people who had fled from Ballymena, about 20 miles (32km) away.