A man, 27, has been arrested in connection with the murder of journalist Lyra McKee during riots in Londonderry last year.
He was held under section 41 of the Terrorism Act 2000 and has since been taken to Musgrave police station in Belfast, a spokesperson for the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said.
They added that a house in Londonderry had also been searched in connection with the arrest.
Ms McKee, 29, was shot dead while reporting on clashes between police and republican dissidents in Creggan, Londonderry, on April 18, 2019. She had built a career covering the Troubles’ legacy and was also an outspoken LGBT+ activist with her partner Sara Canning.
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She wrote for a number of publications including Private Eye and Buzzfeed, and a memorial anthology of her work entitled ‘Lost, Found, Remembered’ was published after her murder in celebration of her life.
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The New IRA claimed responsibility for the killing and offered ‘full and sincere apologies’ to her loved ones. A man, 52, was charged with her murder in February.
He was also charged with possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life and professing to be a member of a proscribed organisation, the PSNI said.
The gunman who killed Ms Mckee is thought to have been aiming for police but missed his target. The journalist was standing near a police vehicle when she was hit.
In its statement the New IRA accused officers of ‘provoking’ the rioting which led to the tragedy and said it had instructed members to ‘take the utmost care in future when engaging the enemy’.
Last year, Ms McKee’s funeral was attended by then UK prime minister Theresa May, Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Ireland’s President Michael D Higgins at St Anne’s Cathedral in Belfast. Catholic priest Fr Martin Magill received a standing ovation when he asked why it took her death to unite politicians.
Days later the British and Irish governments announced a new talks process aimed at restoring devolution in the region.
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