NI 2010 review: dissident republicans pile on pressure

It was a year in which dissident republicans developed the expertise needed to detonate large-scale car bombs and the government warned of possible attacks in Great Britain.

BBC NI home affairs correspondent Vincent Kearney assesses the threat posed by Northern Ireland's terror groups. It was an easy target. There were no security barriers or checkpoints to negotiate as a car packed with around 250lbs of homemade explosives parked outside Newry courthouse on 22 February this year. A short time later, as police officers were still trying to clear the surrounding area, the bomb exploded. No-one was killed or injured, but the shockwaves could be felt more than 40 miles away in the headquarters of MI5 in Holywood and the PSNI in east Belfast. Two months later, shortly after midnight on 12 April, just minutes after policing and justice powers were transferred to the Stormont Assembly, a similar device exploded outside Palace Barracks, where MI5's huge new offices are located. Those explosions were described by senior security sources as "game-changing events". ...

Increasing police use of stop and question powers is justified because of the Northern Ireland security threat, an independent assessor said. The number of cases rose by a fifth in the last year. That is of concern in nationalist areas where use of the powers is seen as fuelling support for dissident republicans but police see it as a valuable tool for combating terrorism. Independent reviewer Robert Whalley said officers were facing a serious threat from dissident republicans which was not expected to relent. "My own judgment is that the overall increased use of these powers is justified in response to the scale of the challenge from the residual terrorist groups, and in particular the risk to life from firearms and explosives," he said. ...

The sisters of a British soldier killed by the IRA almost 40 years ago placed flowers for the first time yesterday at the spot where a sniper shot him. Lance Corporal Richard Miller (21) was on undercover duty on the streets beside Belfast’s Royal Victoria Hospital when he was ambushed in August 1973. On what would have been his 58th birthday, the two women from the north east of England stood by themselves on the Falls Road yesterday and quietly remembered their only brother. Mother-of-three Karyn Jackson (51) from the Ashbrooke area of Sunderland, said: “I found it very emotional, but I'm glad I came to see where he died. “I was only 14 at the time and didn’t really understand. I heard and watched my parents’ pain, but there was no bitterness.” ...

Three armed IRA men on the run from police have burst into a flat in central London and taken at least two people hostage.

Officers have now sealed off the corner of Dorset Square and Balcombe Street, in Marylebone, after a car chase through the West End during which shots were fired.
The gunmen are believed to be members of an IRA hit squad which has been behind a number of attacks in the capital and home counties over the past few months.
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They look a sombre and imposing bunch, five senior officers in the Royal Irish Constabulary posing in Musgrave Street Police Station in Belfast as the 19th Century gave way to the 20th.
They form just one photograph out of dozens now on display there. Belfast's brand new state-of-the-art police station had opened in December 1893, some months late, and a little over budget. A mere 117 years later, many of the officers who served in it over the years have been wandering along its endless labyrinth of corridors one last time. The station was manned by officers from two other forces, the Royal Ulster Constabulary, and the Police Service of Northern Ireland. The brand new police station for the 21st century is getting its finishing touches a matter of yards away inside the same compound. Once today's officers move in, the older red brick buildings are due for demolition early in 2011, to be replaced by a carpark. In its time the old station saw riots, a police mutiny, and during the Troubles, bombs and grenade attacks. ...

Prince William is to marry long-term girlfriend Kate Middleton next year, Clarence House has said. William, second in line to the throne, will marry in London next spring or summer and live in north Wales where he is serving with the RAF. The couple, who are both 28, became engaged in October during a private holiday in Kenya. They began dating eight years ago while studying at St Andrews University in Fife, where they shared a house. The royal engagement was announced in a brief statement released by Clarence House. It said: "The Prince of Wales is delighted to announce the engagement of Prince William to Miss Catherine Middleton. ...

Two of Northern Ireland's politicians are spitting nails after a trip to visit troops in Afghanistan was called off because they were too portly for Army flak jackets. Lord Ken Maginnis and David Simpson, DUP, had been due to fly out this week to meet soldiers from the Royal Irish and the Irish Guards but the Army couldn't find flak jackets large enough to fit them. "To be told at the last minute that the British Army has not got two flak jackets with a 54" chest was just a bit thick," said Lord Maginnis who weighs in at about 18 stone. "I wanted to go out and meet the troops and made considerable efforts to clear my diary. "So this made me very cross. I am no giant, neither is Davy Simpson. We are both reasonably normal, although we are bigger than most." ...

Separate explosives have been defused in Northern Ireland as dissident republicans stepped up their campaign. A viable pipe bomb and suspected flammable liquid was discovered by airport staff in a Toyota car at the long stay car park in Belfast International Airport on Saturday afternoon. The alert ended on Sunday morning. In Lurgan, Co Armagh, a 40kg explosive in a beer keg was made safe by army technical officers after a member of the public raised the alarm on the Tullydagan Road on Friday. Police Service of Northern Ireland Assistant Chief Constable Duncan McCausland said: "Both devices had the potential to cause injury and damage. ...

DNA on a cigarette discarded at the scene of a policeman's death 29 years ago led to a man being charged with murder, a court has heard. RUC reserve constable John Proctor, 25, was shot dead in Magherafelt in September 1981. Seamus Martin Kearney, 54, of Gorteade Road, Swatragh, was arrested on Monday. A policeman told the court his DNA sample matched one on the cigarette. Mr Kearney, who denies the charge, was granted bail. Mr Proctor had just visited his wife and new son in the Mid-Ulster Hospital in Magherafelt, when he was shot dead in the car park. ...

A Lurgan republican accused of the Real IRA murder of two soldiers is claiming he was subjected to sexual and physical abuse during a prison strip-search.

Colin Duffy, 42, has been in custody since March of last year when Sappers Patrick Azimkar and Mark Quinsey were shot dead outside Massereene barracks.
His claims have meant the preliminary investigation into the murders - due to restart has been delayed again.
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