Police in Northern Ireland have said they have “strong” intelligence terror attacks are being planned against their officers on Easter Monday.
Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) Chief Constable Simon Byrne said that officers would be moved to frontline duties to counter any potential threats, in a policing strategy he said hadn’t been used for years.
He said this reflected the “exceptional circumstances” ahead of this Easter weekend.
Speaking in Belfast, Irish deputy premier Micheal Martin condemned the threat of a terrorist attack as “criminality in its worst form” and said it was “very evil people who are contemplating this”.
The warning comes just days before the arrival of US President Joe Biden in Belfast on Tuesday.
The president’s trip will have a strong focus on the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, which falls on Easter Monday. He will also visit Dublin, Co Louth and Co Mayo.
This followed the shooting of senior detective John Caldwell in Co Tyrone, who has been left with life-changing injuries.
Police have blamed the New IRA for the attack.
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Assistant Chief Constable Bobby Singleton said the force has received “strong” intelligence that dissidents are planning to launch terror attacks against officers over the bank holiday weekend.
Image: PSNI Assistant Chief Constable Bobby Singleton
“It’s going to be a really significant weekend for the PSNI,” ACC Singleton told a press conference in Belfast.
“There is also 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 in to serious public disorder and to use that then as a platform to launch terrorist attacks on police as well.
“So going into our operation that’s something that is very clearly right at the forefront of my mind, the minds of the commanders that will be delivering that and of course our officers as well.”
Chief Constable Byrne said the policing strategy, which will see some officers working 12-hour shifts and some “non-frontline roles move to support the collective effort to focus on preventing further terrorist outrage”, would remain in place for around 10 days and would then be reviewed.
Easter Monday is the day dissident republicans traditionally mark the anniversary of the Easter Rising rebellion against British rule in 1916, with a parade set to take place in Londonderry.
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The terror threat level in Northern Ireland has been raised
“The intent remains the same. I think as I see it, it’s the risk, it’s the platform potentially, in particular, that public disorder may present,” ACC Singleton said.
“We don’t have to go too far back, sadly, to see precisely that kind of scenario playing out in Derry/Londonderry in the past.
“So that is absolutely something that’s in the mind of myself and the police commanders as we approach that event, and it will be something that we’ll have to keep under constant review depending on how things develop on the day.”
When asked about whether guns or explosives could be used to target police in Londonderry, he said: “We’ve seen that in the past and, on that basis, we have to be prepared for that and we will be prepared for all eventualities on Monday.”
A man accused of driving into crowds at Liverpool FC’s title parade faces 24 new charges.
More than 130 people, including children, were injured when Paul Doyle allegedly drove his Ford Galaxy vehicle into hordes of fans at the celebrations on 26 May.
The 53-year-old, of Croxteth, Liverpool, was originally charged with two counts of wounding with intent, two counts of causing grievous bodily harm with intent, two counts of attempted grievous bodily harm with intent, and one count of dangerous driving.
Six of the new alleged offences relate to babies, including one six-month-old and one seven-month-old, proceedings at Liverpool Crown Court heard on Thursday.
The new indictment, which was not read out in court, now has 31 counts relating to 29 victims, aged between six months and 77 years old.
Doyle now faces 18 counts of attempting to cause grievous bodily harm, nine counts of causing grievous bodily harm with intent, two counts of wounding with intent, one count of dangerous driving and one count of affray.
He appeared in court via video link from prison and was in tears.
Travellers are being warned about mosquito bites on holiday after a rise in chikungunya infections in people returning to the UK.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) also said the first cases of the emerging oropouche virus had been recorded.
Chikungunya typically causes sudden fever and joint pain, which can be debilitating, and lasts from a few days to weeks.
The name comes from a word in a Tanzanian language meaning “that which bends up”, owing to the joint pain associated with it.
Most people recover but in some cases the symptoms can last several months or even years.
It’s spread by mosquito bites in tropical and subtropical regions, and most of the 73 cases reported in the UK so far this year were in London and linked to travel to Sri Lanka, India, and Mauritius.
Only 27 cases were reported in the same January to June period last year.
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Chikungunya can’t spread directly from person to person – so if someone becomes ill in the UK, they can’t pass the infection on, and the mosquitos responsible aren’t present here.
Dr Philip Veal, consultant in public health at the UKHSA, said it can be a “nasty disease” and the increase in cases was “worrying”.
“It is essential to take precautions against mosquito bites when travelling,” he said.
A man staying at a hotel that has been the focus of a series of protests has denied a charge of sexual assault and faces a trial next month.
Mohammed Sharwarq, a 32-year-old Syrian national, was arrested after police were called to the Bell Hotel on the Epping High Road in Essex yesterday, police said.
Sharwarq, who is alleged to have kissed a man on the neck, indicated a plea of not guilty to a charge of sexual assault at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court today.
He indicated guilty pleas to six further charges concerning four complainants – with two counts of common assault and four of assault by beating.
Sharwarq is alleged to have punched a man in the face, thrown an object at a man, slapped a third man in the face and attempted to punch a fourth.
Sky News understands the alleged offences took place inside the hotel between 25 July and 12 August.