PERSPECTIVE: RENEWED “TROUBLES”MI5 Increases Terror Threat Level in Northern Ireland to “Severe”
There has been increased dissident republican activity in Northern Ireland, including the attempted murder of a senior police officer last month. MI5 believed it had dealt a major blow to the New IRA in 2020 when police arrested nine suspected leaders of the organization, but the New IRA appears to have regrouped.
MI5 has increased the terrorism threat level in Northern Ireland from “substantial” to “severe,” meaning an attack is highly likely.
Matt Dathan writes in The Times that
There has been increased dissident republican activity in Northern Ireland, including the attempted murder of a senior police officer last month.
Chris Heaton-Harris, the Northern Ireland secretary, who made the announcement in a statement today, said that there had been a particular rise in threats targeting police officers serving their communities. This put the lives of children and wider members of the public at risk, he said.
MI5 reviews the terror threat level in Northern Ireland every six months and today’s public announcement lags behind an increased security response that was put in place following the attack on Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell, 48, in February. He was shot multiple times by two gunmen in Omagh, Co Tyrone, while off-duty and coaching a local youth football team last month.
The attempted murder followed a number of other New IRA attacks, including the detonation of a roadside bomb as a police car drove past in Strabane, Co Tyrone.
Security agencies will regard having to raise the threat level as a setback. MI5 believed it had dealt a major blow to the New IRA in 2020 when police arrested nine suspected leaders of the organization following a successful infiltration mission by an undercover agent.
Most of them are still in prison awaiting trial but the New IRA appears to have regrouped and there are fears it will mount further attacks to mark its opposition to the peace process on the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement. The group admitted responsibility for the attack on DCI Caldwell.
Heaton-Harris cited a “small number” of individuals who remained determined to use “politically motivated violence” as he urged the public to “remain vigilant but not alarmed”.
He said the public should continue reporting any concerns they have about potential dissident activity to the Police Service of Northern Ireland.
