Woodward appeals for help to catch barracks killers
Northern Ireland Secretary Shaun Woodward today appealed for help in tracking down the “thugs” who gunned down two British soldiers at an Army barracks in Co Antrim.
Mr Woodward said Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) Chief Constable Hugh Orde would do “everything in his power” to protect witnesses who came forward with information about the murders.
He acknowledged there had been an “increased level of ambition” in recent months among dissident groups to commit an atrocity.
Mr Woodward told BBC 1’s 'Politics Show': “I think, like everybody in Northern Ireland, I’m absolutely horrified by the events of last night. It’s without question a pre-planned attempt at mass murder of off-duty soldiers and civilians.
“This is absolutely despicable and we have to find these people and bring them to justice.”
There were a “small number of people who still remain wedded to the idea that somehow the peace of Northern Ireland can be stopped”.
But, he said: “It can’t be. The people of Northern Ireland have turned their backs on the past, they want a different, peaceful, future that’s prosperous.
“They don’t want this. It has no place here, these people have no support in the community.
“Regrettably their cowardly actions stand in marked contrast to the bravery of the young men who were murdered last night.”
Mr Woodward appealed for the people of Northern Ireland to come forward with information about the attack.
He said: “Last night two men were murdered, there’s another man extremely dangerously ill, three other people badly wounded.
“We have got to find the people who did this last night. There is a real opportunity for the community in Northern Ireland here.
“There will be people who will know who did this, there will be people who know something about suspicious activity... there is a real responsibility by people in the community to come forward.
“There will be people who are afraid of doing it and what I can promise them is that the Chief Constable will do everything in his power to provide protection for those people.
“We need the public to come forward, we need witness statements and we need to catch these criminals and catch them quickly.”
Mr Orde recently warned that the threat from dissident Republicans was at its highest level during his six-year term.
Mr Woodward said: “I’m afraid to say we have been aware over the last few months of an increased level of ambition by the small number of criminals to commit some act of atrocity.”
But he said the attack last night “does stand in isolation” and should not distract from the peace process.
In an interview with Sky News’ 'Sunday Live' Mr Woodward described those who carried out the attack at the Massereene barracks as “self-obsessed thugs”.
He said: “We will track them down and we will bring them to justice.”
