Newtownhamilton bomb response 'embarrassed officers'

Firefighters evacuated the area before the bomb exploded

The chairman of the Police Federation has said officers are embarrassed by the PSNI's slow response to the bomb in Newtownhamilton last week.

Two people were injured when a bomb exploded outside the village's police station last Thursday night.

The area was evacuated by firefighters because of the length of time it took police officers to arrive at the scene.

Terry Spence of the Police Federation said officers did not want that happening again.

"If you look at what happened in Newtownhamilton last week, we had the fire service who had to cordon off the area and had to deal with what was a very serious, murderous attack on police officers, on the police station and on the civilian community as well.

"That's something our officers are embarrassed about - they don't want to have that situation," he said.

After the attack, police said they had to be cautious about how they responded to the initial bomb warning as dissident republicans were intent on murdering officers.

On Monday, Mr Spence told Justice Minister David Ford the federation does not believe the chief constable has "sufficient" resources.

He said he had written to all the executive ministers to highlight the issue and to call for "collective action".

Mr Spence said he was concerned about the increased level of dissident republican attacks since January.

Chief Constable Matt Baggott said he had enough resources.

Attacks

Mr Spence said: "There has been 18 bomb and mortar attacks, 18 gun attacks, one police officer seriously injured and 24 other officers who had to leave their homes because of intimidation.

"The attacks reflect a growing confidence and competence among dissident republicans and they are aware that the police are not responding sufficiently robustly to deter them."

Mr Spence added that unless there was a massive change in the security response then "we will gradually sleepwalk into a renewal of a full-blown terrorist campaign."

Matt Baggott met with the Policing Board on Monday to brief them on the security situation following the attack in Newtownhamilton.

Matt Baggott said the number of police officers on the streets is the greatest since 2007

The chief constable also told board members about some of the measures in place in the run up to the general election.

"We keep our resources under constant review, clearly we don't make long-term decisions on the basis of a few weeks but we are increasing our presence on the streets.

"I'm going to be asking the public to be tolerant of that and to work with us," he said.

"The number of police officers we have on the streets is the greatest since 2007, so real progress is being made but we're not underplaying the current level of threat which we've always said is severe."

Justice Minister David Ford, following his meeting with the Police Federation, commended the commitment and bravery of police officers as they protected the community.

"The safety and welfare of our police officers and the community in Northern Ireland is of paramount importance. They deserve the support and co-operation of the entire community," he said.

"I found my discussions today with the Police Federation incredibly helpful. As representatives of police officers, it is important that I benefit from their insight, knowledge and experience."