Loyalist activist Jamie Bryson has launched an online attack on a journalist who is spearheading a campaign to raise cash to investigate the death of tragic Belfast teenager Noah Donohoe.
The Twitter attack on Donal MacIntyre came after a crowdfunding campaign to help raise the cash for a documentary into the death of the 14-year-old St Malachy's College pupil passed its target of £150,000 in just four weeks.
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As part of his investigation Mr MacIntyre has assembled a team of experts including the former Detective Chief Inspector Clive Driscoll who solved the Stephen Lawrence case, Scotland Yard Detective Andy Crocker and Professor Emeritus of Criminology, David Wilson.
The team is expected to carry out new forensic testing and re-examinations of evidence.
Responding on social media to news that the target has been reached, Mr Bryson launched a personal attack on Mr MacIntyre and his involvement in the Noah campaign. The Irish News is not repeating the comments.
Mr MacIntyre, who thanked contributors on X, formerly Twitter, saying they had done "great work" did not appear to respond to the comments.
Noah went missing during a bike trip from his home in south Belfast on June 21 2020.
His body was found in a north Belfast storm drain six days later .
A post-mortem examination found that the popular teenager had died as a result of drowning.
Since his death his family has led a campaign to establish the circumstances of events leading up to his death.
Mr MacIntyre said: “Our investigative team are extremely humbled by the groundswell of support for this campaign, with donations as small as a pound and as much as £5,000."
“It is a testament to the public's demand for independent and objective journalism as much as huge concern over the circumstances surrounding Noah Donohoe's death, aged just 14, in a storm drain in Belfast in the summer of 2020."
A formal inquest was due to start last year but has been delayed over issues relating to CCTV footage around Noah's home and forensic toxicology reports.
