The Chief Constable, Simon Byrne, informed the Policing Board that such trouble could be a ploy to draw officers into gun or bomb attacks. This latest warning comes after MI5 raised Northern Ireland’s terrorism threat level to severe in February 2023, indicating a high likelihood of an attack.
Events are being organized to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998, which brought an end to the 30 years of the Troubles, a violent conflict that claimed over 3,500 lives. Mr Byrne stressed that the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) had made temporary changes to shifts to put more officers onto frontline duties in anticipation of trouble.
Recently, senior detective John Caldwell suffered life-changing injuries when he was shot multiple times at a sports complex in Omagh, County Tyrone, in an attack believed to have been carried out by the dissident republican group, the New IRA.
Speaking after the Policing Board meeting, Assistant Chief Constable Bobby Singleton revealed the PSNI had “very strong community intelligence” that attacks were being planned in Londonderry and that officers had to “be prepared for that and we will be prepared for all eventualities on Monday”.
The Irish Deputy Prime Minister, Micheál Martin, condemned the possibility of an attack on the police, referring to it as “criminality in its worst form”. Mr Martin regarded people contemplating such an attack as “very evil people”.
In addition, the forthcoming visit to Northern Ireland by the US President, Joe Biden, further makes resources stretched. The anniversary events, Easter, and the presidential visit are expected to cost £7m in security operations. Mr Byrne stated that resources would be further challenged by the visit of the US President next week to mark the Good Friday Agreement anniversary, which also falls on Monday.
The chief constable revealed that the PSNI had created a “bespoke CCTV viewing hub” as part of the investigation into the attempted murder of Det Ch Insp John Caldwell. The hub is staffed by 30 detectives who are “working through upwards of 100,000 hours of CCTV obtained through our enquiries”.
Apart from the threat posed by dissident republican paramilitaries, Mr Byrne’s report also detailed the continuing struggles within loyalist groups, which has led to violent feuds between criminal drug gangs, previously linked to the Ul
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