Car bomb coincides with transfer of policing and justice powers

The Real IRA has claimed responsibility for a car bomb attack believed to have been timed to coincide with the transfer of policing and justice powers from Westminster to Stormont.

Several homes were evacuated shortly before the attack which took place in the early hours of April 12, outside where MI5 has its Northern Ireland headquarters.

The bomb was placed in a taxi, which was hijacked in north Belfast, about seven miles from Holywood, the previous evening. The driver was held hostage by three men for about two hours before being told to drive his taxi to the barracks. There were two explosions – first the bomb and then the petrol tank – destroying the car and damaging other property.

Police were still evacuating the surrounding area when the bomb went off. An elderly man was treated in hospital for minor injuries.

Up to 60 people were moved from their homes and spent the night in a community centre.

The attack is thought to have been timed to coincide with the transfer of policing and justice powers from London to Belfast.

Claims by Basil McCrea, Ulster Unionist member of the Northern Ireland Policing Board, that a warning was given prior to the explosion have been denied by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI). Chief Superintendent Nigel Grimshaw said the only prior knowledge was when a taxi was hijacked and the driver ordered to Palace Barracks.

Northern Ireland Secretary Shaun Woodward said this “democratic transition stands in stark contrast to the activity of a criminal few who will not accept the will of the majority of people of Northern Ireland”.

“They have no support anywhere,” he added.
Chief Supt Grimshaw strongly condemned the attack.

“Clearly, the people responsible for this showed absolutely no regard for human life. There is no question in my mind, this was designed for one thing and one thing only – to kill or cause serious injury to people and that’s exactly what it would have done were it not for the actions of my officers and military colleagues in the barracks and the community themselves working together. Thankfully we were able to evacuate people from the immediate area of the explosion,” he said.

“The people responsible for this cowardly attack refuse to accept that Northern Ireland is moving on and that peace is working here. They are callous criminals who simply want to drag everyone back to the past to suit their misguided objectives. They seek to target those who are at the very forefront of moving communities forward and try to rule these communities by fear.

“The police service, like the vast majority of the community, is determined not to let that happen.  These criminals have no role to play in this community and have absolutely no support from the ordinary decent people living here in Northern Ireland.

“Despite the ongoing dissident threat, officers commit themselves daily to working in the community to provide them with the level of policing and support they deserve and we would ask everyone to work together to achieve this.”