MI5 has increased the terror threat level in Northern Ireland from “substantial” to “severe”, meaning an attack is highly likely.
Announcing the change on Tuesday, Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris cited a “small number” of individuals who remain determined to carry out “acts of politically motivated violence”.
He urged the public to “remain vigilant” but “not be alarmed”.
But he added that recent months “have seen an increase in levels of activity relating to Northern Ireland-related terrorism”, which have put children, police officers and others at risk.
He referenced the attempted murder of DCI John Caldwell, a senior detective who was shot at a sports complex in Omagh, Co Tyrone in February.
In a written statement to MPs on Tuesday, Mr Heaton-Harris said MI5 had increased the threat level to the region independently of ministers.
“The public should remain vigilant, but not be alarmed, and continue to report any concerns they have to the Police Service of Northern Ireland,” he said.
He said that despite the success of the Good Friday Agreement “a small number of people remain determined to cause harm to our communities through acts of politically motivated violence”.
“In recent months, we have seen an increase in levels of activity relating to Northern Ireland related terrorism, which has targeted police officers serving their communities and also put at risk the lives of children and other members of the public.
“These attacks have no support, as demonstrated by the reaction to the abhorrent attempted murder of DCI Caldwell.”
The change comes roughly a year after Britain lowered the threat level for the province to “substantial” for the first time in more than a decade.
Simon Byrne, Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, said: “This is part of an ongoing process of monitoring the threat level in Northern Ireland, which is conducted by MI5. We have spoken publicly about the number of attacks that have taken place in recent months, not least the attempted murder of DCI John Caldwell on February 22.
“We will relentlessly pursue those who seek to cause harm and terrorise our communities, and attack my officers and staff, and I pay tribute to them as they continue to deliver for our communities.
“I would also like to thank the community and political leaders of Northern Ireland for their overwhelming support for the Police Service in recent times.”
