Noah Donohoe: Thousands at Belfast protest

The protest was held in Belfast city centre

Several thousand people have protested in Belfast city centre over a PSNI application to withhold some information from an inquest into the death of Noah Donohoe.

The 14-year-old was found dead in a storm drain in north Belfast in 2020.

A Public Interest Immunity (PII) certificate has been signed by Northern Ireland Secretary Shailesh Vara.

The teenager's mother believes it is an attempt to cover up the circumstances of her son's death.

• Noah Donohoe protesters call for full disclosure

• Post-mortem finds Noah Donohoe died from drowning

There is to be a private hearing for coroner Joe McCrisken to rule on the PII certificate, which was brought by the PSNI and which required ministerial approval.

Mr McCrisken will see all the material in unredacted form before having the final say on whether to approve the police request.

Noah's mother Fiona Donohoe spoke to the crowd.

Noah's mother Fiona Donohoe addresses the rally

"We see on our social media every day the support that we have, but to see people come out today - this is Noah's army," she said.

"We are so grateful to every single person standing here in this heat today for Noah."

Speaking at the rally, Sinn Féin North Belfast MP John Finucane said the family deserves truth and transparency.

Thousands of people attended the rally

"Because make no mistake about it, there are serious questions that remain unanswered concerning every single aspect of Noah's disappearance and the subsequent investigation," he said.

"Justice demands openness and justice demands transparency.

"When we speak of Noah and Fiona's search for truth, we speak of the need for a light to be shone revealing everything we still don't know about what happened to him."

The teenager was found dead in a north Belfast storm drain in June 2020, six days after he went missing

People Before Profit assembly member Gerry Carroll said: "All the Donohoe family is asking for is the truth.

"If the PSNI is certain about how Noah died, why are they unwilling to release key information which would allow Fiona, Niamh and their family to move on?"

In a recent statement, the PSNI said it recognised that the process was "difficult" for the family.

Assistant Chief Constable Mark McEwan said in making the application police sought to make the "absolute minimum" and only necessary redactions.

"Redactions related to sensitive personal information and to investigative methodology that if released, would adversely impact the safety of person/s or other unrelated investigations," he added.

"As always, the coroner will continue to have full sight of all material in this case and he will have the final decision on PII."

On Saturday, a Northern Ireland Office spokesperson said Secretary of State Shailesh Vara's thoughts "are with the Donohoe family and friends during this difficult time".

They added: "The Public Interest Immunity application was made by the PSNI, not the secretary of state, and it is the coroner who has responsibility for deciding whether or not information attracts PII.

"The secretary of state's decision to sign the PII certificate was reached after very careful consideration of the information and detailed briefing by officials."