Police and army brief new Northern Secretary

Northern Ireland Secretary Dr John Reid is preparing for briefings on the security situation in the province on his first day in his new post.

Northern Ireland Secretary Dr John Reid is preparing for briefings on the security situation in the province on his first day in his new post.

On his arrival in Belfast, Dr Reid will meet RUC Chief Constable Sir Ronnie Flanagan and Army GOC, Lieutenant Colonel Alistair Irwin.

It is understood no plans have as yet been made for meetings with the province's political leaders.

In a statement on last night, the new Northern Ireland Secretary, who replaces Peter Mandelson, acknowledged the peace process was at a critical stage.

With talks involving the Prime Minister Tony Blair focusing on IRA decommissioning, policing reform and demilitarisation, Dr Reid stressed: "The next few weeks provide an enormous opportunity to put the Agreement and the future of Northern Ireland on a more stable basis.

"I will do all in my power to help bring that about but I will first of all want to bring myself fully up to date, so I intend going to Northern Ireland tomorrow to talk to the Chief Constable and the GOC as well as my officials.

"I believe that the Good Friday Agreement offers all the people of Northern Ireland the chance to leave the past behind and move into a more stable and prosperous future. I will do everything I can to make it work because that is the expressed will of the people."

Dr Reid enters the Northern Ireland political arena at a time when dissident republican paramilitaries have been mounting a series of bomb attacks on security targets in a bid to destabilise the peace process.

Concern is also mounting about the state of the Ulster Defence Association's ceasefire with the loyalist terror group being blamed for recent sectarian pipe bomb attacks against Catholic families in east Antrim, east Londonderry and north Belfast.

With Westminster and local government elections looming, there is also pressure from Ulster Unionist hardliners for progress on IRA disarmament by the end of January.

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