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| Letter bomb targets Northern Ireland secretary Theresa Villiers | Letter bomb targets Northern Ireland secretary Theresa Villiers |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A letter bomb addressed to the Northern Ireland secretary, Theresa Villiers, has been discovered at the offices of the first minister and deputy first minister. | A letter bomb addressed to the Northern Ireland secretary, Theresa Villiers, has been discovered at the offices of the first minister and deputy first minister. |
| The Stormont castle headquarters of Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness near Belfast were evacuated, and the army was on the scene. | The Stormont castle headquarters of Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness near Belfast were evacuated, and the army was on the scene. |
| Two letter bombs were recently sent to the police, one to the Derry police commander and the other to the chief constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland. A third was posted to the Public Prosecution Service in Derry on Monday. | Two letter bombs were recently sent to the police, one to the Derry police commander and the other to the chief constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland. A third was posted to the Public Prosecution Service in Derry on Monday. |
| Dissident republicans were blamed. | Dissident republicans were blamed. |
| Villiers is in London, meeting the former US diplomat Richard Haass about progress on talks he is chairing with Northern Ireland politicians about boosting the peace process. | Villiers is in London, meeting the former US diplomat Richard Haass about progress on talks he is chairing with Northern Ireland politicians about boosting the peace process. |
| During the alert, Robinson was moved to the parliament buildings in Stormont, the seat of the Northern Ireland assembly. His work and meetings continued unaffected. Because the assembly is in recess, McGuinness was not in Stormont castle and few MLAs were in the parliament buildings. | During the alert, Robinson was moved to the parliament buildings in Stormont, the seat of the Northern Ireland assembly. His work and meetings continued unaffected. Because the assembly is in recess, McGuinness was not in Stormont castle and few MLAs were in the parliament buildings. |
| Dozens of staff were evacuated during the alert, many of them also moving to the parliament buildings. | Dozens of staff were evacuated during the alert, many of them also moving to the parliament buildings. |
| Stormont's justice minister, David Ford, thanked staff in Royal Mail sorting offices for their vigilance when handling suspicious packages. | Stormont's justice minister, David Ford, thanked staff in Royal Mail sorting offices for their vigilance when handling suspicious packages. |
| He visited the sorting office at Mallusk, near Belfast, where staff recently intercepted a viable explosive device addressed to Chief Constable Matt Baggott. On the same day, staff at the Lisburn sorting office intercepted another device addressed to the Derry commander, Chief Inspector John Burrows. | |
| Ford said: "There are delivery offices across Northern Ireland handling many thousands of letters and parcels every day. Royal Mail has been very active in putting in place security measures to detect and deal with suspicious packages, which in turn helps to secure and protect our citizens. | Ford said: "There are delivery offices across Northern Ireland handling many thousands of letters and parcels every day. Royal Mail has been very active in putting in place security measures to detect and deal with suspicious packages, which in turn helps to secure and protect our citizens. |
| "I was grateful for the opportunity to personally thank some of the staff involved in dealing with our mail and carrying out those security checks. There is an obvious threat to these staff when reckless people abuse the mail system and I commend them for their vigilance." | "I was grateful for the opportunity to personally thank some of the staff involved in dealing with our mail and carrying out those security checks. There is an obvious threat to these staff when reckless people abuse the mail system and I commend them for their vigilance." |
| Ford condemned the attempted attack on Villiers. | Ford condemned the attempted attack on Villiers. |
| "This is yet a further attempt to attack a public figure," he said. "Do those sending these devices really think their intended target will personally open the package? Their actions are to be condemned by all right-thinking people." | "This is yet a further attempt to attack a public figure," he said. "Do those sending these devices really think their intended target will personally open the package? Their actions are to be condemned by all right-thinking people." |
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