Warning over dissident threat
Police in Northern Ireland are to launch a major security operation in the run-up to the election amid fears of a dissident republican attack.
Deputy chief constable Judith Gillespie told the public to expect more roadside checks and additional patrols in the coming days.
Dissidents exploded a bomb outside the army base which houses MI5’s Northern Ireland’s headquarters in Holywood, County Down earlier this month.
No warning was given.
The blast came on the day that David Ford was elected as Northern Ireland’s Justice Minister, the first local politician to hold the job in 38 years.
On Friday, Mrs Gillespie said the police had to prepare for another terror attack to coincide with the election.
She said: “We are very alive to this possibility.”
“We want to make sure that everybody goes about their democratic right to vote in a way that protects their safety and protects their security.”
