After receiving strong intelligence that dissident republicans were planning terrorist attacks, MI5 raised the terrorist threat level for Northern Ireland from' significant 'to' severe ' last week before US President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak arrived in Northern Ireland to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.

 Edited by |Juls McMahon

Europe   section - CJ journalist

Belfast - April,7,2023

    In a public briefing, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said it had “very strong” intelligence that officers would be targeted in Londonderry on Easter Monday.

April 10 marks the anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, the peace deal that created power-sharing in the province and brought an end to the 30 years of conflict known as the Troubles.

Mr. Biden, the US president, and Mr. Sunak, the Prime Minister, will arrive on Tuesday evening ahead of a day of commemorative events marking the agreement on Wednesday.

The biggest police operation for a decade in Northern Ireland is underway, with more officers put into front-line roles and increased use of 12-hour shifts.

Asst Chief Constable Bobby Singleton warned at a press conference in Belfast: “There is very strong community intelligence specifically coming forward in respect of Monday’s events in Derry/Londonderry and a real concern that there may be attempts to draw police into serious public disorder and to use that then as a platform to launch terrorist attacks on police as well.”

Easter is always a busy period for police in Northern Ireland, with parades held by Republicans to mark the Easter Rising rebellion against British rule in 1916.

However, in recent months there have been signs of particularly heightened tensions. MI5 raised the terror threat level for Northern Ireland from “substantial” to “severe” last week, meaning an attack is judged to be “highly likely”.

February saw the attempted murder of John Caldwell, a senior detective, in Co Tyrone in a shooting police blamed on the New IRA.

On Thursday, Asst Chief Constable Chris Todd played down suggestions that fears over an Easter Monday attack were linked to the arrival of Mr. Biden and the world’s media. “No such intelligence” has been seen to suggest the anniversary is a motivation behind the plotting by dissident republicans, he said.

A former police counter-terror chief said it was “unusual” that Northern Irish police had been so explicit about concerns about a terror attack on officers on Easter Monday.

“If you get specific intelligence like that and you call it out before something happens, it sometimes has the impact that you want it to have in that they will know the police are prepared for it.

“Putting raw intelligence in the public domain not only alerts the public but also alerts the bad guys that the police are on to it. By putting it out in the public domain, you flush it out and you will alarm the people who are organizing it who will think there has been a security breach.”

Mr. Sunak and Mr. Biden are expected to meet during their visits, although no major policy talks are being planned. Mr. Biden will then travel to Ireland later on Wednesday for a visit lasting until Saturday.

Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, and Bill and Hillary Clinton, the former US president and first lady, will visit Northern Ireland to mark the anniversary in the next fortnight, with confirmations of visits by other political figures expected in the coming days.

Simon Byrne, the PSNI Chief Constable, told a Policing Board meeting at the Stormont Hotel: “We are now dealing with a severe terrorist threat, which means that an attack is highly likely right across Northern Ireland.

“The thing to stress is the main focus of these attacks continues to be police officers, both on and off duty, and their families. It will also include prison officers and military personnel.

“The style of attack that we are dealing with and trying to frustrate is gun attacks and bomb attacks on these people by a small number of determined dissident terrorists. What this means is that, working with our security partners, there is an assessment about an increase in their intent and capability to cause serious harm to us in the next six months.”

In February, six police officers were attacked in Strabane, while in March, a dissident Republican group warned that officers and their families were now “legitimate targets”.

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