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Letter bomb targets Northern Ireland secretary Theresa Villiers Letter bomb targets Northern Ireland secretary Theresa Villiers
(about 2 hours 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. Army bomb disposal officers were called to Stormont Castle on Tuesday after a letter bomb was found addressed to the Northern Ireland secretary, Theresa Villiers.
The Stormont castle headquarters of Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness near Belfast were evacuated, and the army was on the scene. Staff were evacuated after the package was found in the postroom. Villiers was not in Belfast; the minister was instead in London, meeting US diplomat Richard Haass, who is chairing discussions on disputes such as contentious Orange marches.
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. Villiers is the latest target of a parcel and letter bomb campaign blamed on the dissident republican "new IRA". The chief constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, Matt Baggott, one of his senior police commanders and the Derry regional office of the Public Prosecution Service have all received devices in the last week.
Dissident republicans were blamed. Commenting on the bomb threat, Villiers said: "I utterly condemn the attempted attacks we've seen over recent days. If those responsible think that this kind of criminal activity will further any agenda, then they are completely mistaken."
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. Northern Ireland's first minister, Peter Robinson, condemned those who sent the letter bomb. "Those responsible for sending this, and other devices, through the post have absolutely no regard for the lives of postal workers and staff working in offices," he said.
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. "They will not further any aim or objective by their vile and callous deeds. Northern Ireland will not be dragged back by terrorists who have nothing but misery to offer."
Dozens of staff were evacuated during the alert, many of them also moving to the parliament buildings. The Stormont justice minister, David Ford, said: "This is yet a further attempt to attack a public figure. 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."
Stormont's justice minister, David Ford, thanked staff in Royal Mail sorting offices for their vigilance when handling suspicious packages. The letter and parcel bombs come after several weeks in which dissident republicans caused major traffic disruption through a series of bomb hoax alerts across greater Belfast and Derry.
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. The use of such devices has been a tactic of republican and loyalist terror groups since the 1970s. The Provisional IRA posted letter bombs to 10 Downing Street during the Troubles, while the Ulster Defence Association sent similar devices to Sinn Féin's headquarters in Dublin as well as Irish government buildings during a renewed loyalist terrorist offensive in the early 1990s.
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."
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."
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