Events company issues sincere apology for 'unacceptable and factually inaccurate' depiction of Belfast

The company’s assertions about Belfast, ahead of a major conference on cyber security, were highlighted by the Nolan Show on Friday morning.

Up to 2,000 delegates from around the world are expected in the city for the National Cyber Security Centre’s (NCSC) annual conference at the Waterfront Hall ICC.

The Nolan Show revealed that a number of contractors working at the conference had to agree to abide by a several conditions whilst in Belfast for their own safety.

One is not to venture outside of the city centre as the housing estates in the vicinity could be dangerous. Another is not to use the black taxi tour companies as they are ‘run by IRA’.

A number of taxi drivers called the show to lambast the company for publishing such inaccurate and inflammatory comments.

A statement from the events company on Friday afternoon said: “Bray Leino Events is the delivery partner of CYBERUK 2023 working in collaboration with NCSC.

"We acknowledge that statements made in the internal document for CYBERUK support staff were unacceptable and factually inaccurate. We sincerely apologise for any offence caused by these actions.

"We can confirm that the document has been withdrawn and a revised document along with an apology is being distributed to all accredited staff.”

A Tourism NI spokesperson said: “Tourism NI, Visit Belfast and Belfast City Council collectively support a scheme to bring conferences to Northern Ireland. Major conferences such as CyberUK2023 bring a wide range of benefits to NI including high spending visitors, jobs and the attraction of inward investment.

“Tourism NI welcomes the withdrawal of the inaccurate and offensive contractor briefing about Belfast by the CyberUK2023 organisers. We wholeheartedly reject the misinformed contents of this document, which do not reflect the fantastic experience enjoyed by visitors to Northern Ireland.

“Given Belfast’s excellent track record in hosting similar conferences, we look forward to welcoming this flagship two-day event and its delegates to the city next week and will continue to work with our partners to highlight all that Northern Ireland has to offer.”

In a Youtube video promoting the conference last month, Belfast-born Lindy Cameron, chief executive of the NCSC said: "CyberUK is our annual flagship event, and in April 2023 we will be holding it here at the ICC [Waterfront] in Belfast.

"As a proud Northern Irish woman, I'm obviously delighted about this. But we're not just holding it here for sentimental reasons.”

Ms Cameron said “it is particularly special to have it here in Northern Ireland, and not just for me personally," before referring to Northern Ireland's history of industry and innovation which "continues to thrive today".

The NCSC website describes the Belfast venue as being “within a 10-minute walk of the heart of Belfast – one of Europe’s most accessible, vibrant and flourishing cities”.