Stormont minister’s social media posts prompts calls for his resignation following racist attack on leisure centre
Fire fighters at the scene where a fire has broken out at Larne Leisure Centre following vandalism at the facility, June 11, 2025NORTHERN Ireland’s First Minister Michelle O’Neill has said Stormont communities minister Gordon Lyons should resign over a social media post sent hours before an attack on Larne Leisure Centre.
Mr Lyons has faced criticism over a post about the location of migrant families who fled their homes.
Mr Lyons has resisted calls for his resignation and said he would “strongly hit back at any notion” that he had publicly revealed the facility was being used to house immigrant families affected by violence in Ballymena.
Masked youths attacked the leisure centre on Wednesday night and set it on fire.
Prior to the fire, Mr Lyons posted on social media that the building had been used to accommodate several people following riotous behaviour in Ballymena, which is 30 minutes away.
Police said that ethnic minorities have been targeted in the violence, which they have described as “racist thuggery.”
Mr Lyons’s post said: “As a local MLA [Member of Legislative Assembly] for the area, neither I nor my DUP council colleagues were made aware or consulted on this decision until late this afternoon.”
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