Police Federation chairman warns of paramilitary threat
The chairman of the North’s Police Federation has told the group’s annual conference that paramilitaries are re-arming ahead of a predicted collapse in the Irish peace process.
Irwin Montgomery said the threat from paramilitaries is now greater than at any time since the 1998 Omagh bombing and he accused the British government of grossly underestimating this threat.
He also told Northern Secretary John Reid, who was listening in the audience, that implementing the Patten Report’s recommendation to disband the 2,000-strong full-time police reserve would lead to a collapse in policing.
Mr Montgomery pulled no punches in criticising the British government, which he said is in danger of losing the ability to guarantee a peaceful life for the people of the North.
He said Britain has not faced up to the growing dangers caused by its own failure to respond firmly to security threats from paramilitaries.
Mr Montgomery also called for a full review of all prisoners released early under the Good Friday Agreement, a ban on ex-prisoners joining local policing partnership boards and a new police training college.
