No national security attacks recorded in Northern Ireland in 2024
The Northern Ireland-related terrorism threat level for the region remains at substantial, that an attack is likely, after being reduced from severe in 2024.
Dr Jonny Byrne (Liam McBurney/PA)
However the Independent Reviewer of National Security Arrangements in Northern Ireland was critical of a lack of discussion among politicians, policymakers and the community around the national security situation.
Dr Jonny Byrne, who was appointed to the role last year, said security statistics and the assessed threat level 'fail to adequately capture the transformation Northern Ireland has gone through since 1998'.
Secretary of State Hilary Benn made a statement on Tuesday on the latest annual report which reviews the relationship between MI5 and the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) in handling national security matters, and whether it is in compliance with the 2006 St Andrews Agreement.
Mr Benn's written statement quoted the main findings of the latest report, which covers the period from January 1 2024 to December 31 2024.
It found compliance in terms of the five key principles, including the PSNI having had sight and access to all Security Service Intelligence relating to terrorism in Northern Ireland and being informed of Security Service counter-terrorist activities relating to Northern Ireland.
The report also found that an 'overwhelming number' of 'what are considered national security Covert Human Intelligence Sources (CHISs) in Northern Ireland continue to be run by PSNI officers under existing handling protocols'.
A police cordon at the scene in the Greenan area of west Belfast following the murder of Kevin Conway (Brian Lawless/PA)
It outlines general statistics, with the recording of one security-related death in 2024 in terms of the murder of Kevin Conway, compared with none in 2023, and six bombing incidents and 17 shooting incidents in 2024, compared with eight bombing and 33 shooting incidents in 2023.
There were also 23 casualties of paramilitary-style assaults, compared with 31 in 2023, and five casualties of paramilitary-style shootings, compared with 19 in 2023.
Meanwhile there were 67 security-related arrests under Section 41 of the Terrorism Act 2000, with nine persons subsequently charged, compared with 104 arrested in 2023 with 21 charged.
Dr Byrne expressed concern around an overreliance on these indicators.
'It is apparent that security statistics along with the approach to measuring the threat level, fails to adequately capture the transformation Northern Ireland has gone through since 1998,' he wrote in his report.
'Since 2010, the threat level has fluctuated (in a small part) between severe and substantial yet the policing and security landscape in 2024 is very different and significantly closer to one envisaged through the peace process.
'There is a risk that Northern Ireland is solely defined through these indicators and that they have a significant influence on current and future security-related policy.'
He said there is a 'lack of agreement among politicians, policy-makers and the community as to what constitutes a 'national security issue''.
'There is also a reluctance to engage on the issue in a public way as most people align it with the conflict and part of our past,' he said in his report.
'As a result, there are limited discussions about national security within the context of public health, the economy, climate change and the environment, migration and immigration, cyber threats and extremism.'
Dr Byrne urged a 'focused discussion as to what normalisation looks like and what security indicators are best placed to measure it and reflect the situation'.
'My concern is that we use the current security indicators and threat level to justify why we cannot 'move on', which makes any further move to normalisation challenging,' he said in his report.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
3 hours ago
- The Independent
Loyalist bonfire on site with asbestos lit despite warnings
Eleventh night bonfires have been lit across Northern Ireland, including one on a site in Belfast with asbestos despite warnings. Effigies of the Irish rap group Kneecap topped a different bonfire in south Belfast, while there was condemnation at the placing of Irish flags and sectarian slogans on other pyres in loyalist neighbourhoods. Elsewhere, the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service also tackled a gorse blaze in the Belfast Hills off the Ballyutoag Road. The bonfire at Meridi Street, off the Donegall Road in south Belfast, had been the focus of warnings, political rows and legal challenges throughout the week. Earlier on Friday, Stormont Environment Minister Andrew Muir urged that the bonfire on a site that contains asbestos and is also close to an electricity sub-station, which powers two major hospitals in the city, not be lit. However it was lit as planned late on Friday while hundreds of other bonfires were also set alight in the July 11 tradition ahead of the Orange Order's July 12 parades on Saturday. Another bonfire nearby at Roden Street was topped with effigies of Kneecap, as well as a sign written in the Irish language. A bonfire in Eastvale Avenue in Dungannon, Co Tyrone, features the group on a poster with the wording 'Kill Your Local Kneecap', seemingly in response to a clip that emerged from a gig in 2023, which appeared to show a member saying: 'The only good Tory is a dead Tory. Kill your local MP.' There was also criticism of the placing of Irish flags and sectarian slogans on a number of bonfires including one in the Highfield area of west Belfast. A small number of bonfires were lit on Thursday night, including the controversial pyre in Moygashel, Co Tyrone, which had been widely criticised by political representatives and church leaders after it was topped with an effigy of migrants in a boat. In a statement released ahead of the fire being lit, the PSNI said they were investigating a hate incident in relation to the fire. The boat on top of the bonfire contained more than a dozen life-sized mannequins wearing life jackets. Below the boat were several placards, one saying: 'Stop the boats', and another saying: 'Veterans before refugees'.
BBC News
4 hours ago
- BBC News
The Twelfth: Thousands to attend NI's Orange Order parades
Crowds will to line the streets of cities, towns and villages all over Northern Ireland on Saturday to attend Twelfth of July parades. Thousands of Orange Order members take part in the annual marches to commemorate the anniversary of the Battle of the Boyne in event is also a celebration of Protestant traditions and Ulster-Scots of local Orange lodges will be joined on parade by visiting lodges from Scotland and further afield. They will be accompanied by marching bands and supported by tens of thousands of spectators, many of whom dress up in colourful costume for the occasion. This year's events are concentrated at 18 locations, with members travelling to converge with neighbouring lodges at the nearest host venue. This year marks the 335th anniversary of the Battle of the Boyne, which took place outside Drogheda in what is now the Republic of Ireland. The battle ended in victory for the Protestant King William III over his Catholic father-in-law, the deposed King James II. On Friday night, hundreds of bonfires were lit to mark Eleventh Night - a tradition observed by many unionist communities on the eve of the bonfires commemorate the actions of King William III's supporters in 1690, who lit fires across the countryside to welcome and guide him to the battle site. Most Eleventh Night bonfires pass without incident, but some are controversial due to their height or location, or because they contain symbols considered year a bonfire in south Belfast caused concern because of the presence of asbestos on the site, and the fact it was close to an electricity substation which supplies power to two nearby bonfire, between the Donegall Road and the Westlink, was lit on Friday night after police confirmed they would not assist in removing it.
BBC News
4 hours ago
- BBC News
Eleventh night bonfires lit across Northern Ireland ahead of Twelfth parades
Eleventh night bonfires have been lit across Northern Ireland, including at a controversial site in south fires are lit every year as part of celebrations in some unionist areas, ahead of the Orange Order's 12 July parades on most pass off without any controversy, some are were raised about a bonfire off the Donegall Road in south Belfast due to the presence of asbestos on the site, as well as fears over the power supply to two major hospitals because the bonfire is near an electricity substation. The bonfire was lit just after Ireland's Environment Minister Andrew Muir had urged people not to light or attend Mervyn Gibson, grand secretary of the Orange Order, said the bonfire should go ahead, saying concerns about the presence of asbestos on the site were "clearly political". Effigies of rap trio Kneecap were placed on another bonfire in south Belfast. They appeared along with a placard referencing the group.A banner about the band was placed on a bonfire in Dungannon, County band's manager, Daniel Lambert, shared a quote from Kneecap on X, saying that young working-class people in Belfast were "facing the same issues whether they're from the Falls Road or the Shankill".
