Bomb defused outside hardline MP's office
A bomb was defused today outside the north Belfast office of hardline Democratic Unionist MP Nigel Dodds.
Army bomb disposal experts defused the device after a caller claiming to represent the Continuity IRA said the dissident republican group had planted a 100lb bomb.
A number of homes in the Shore Road area were evacuated during the security operation this morning.
Mr Dodds, a former Social Development Minister in the Northern Ireland Assembly, said he was disgusted by the attack.
“This is more than just an attack on me and my office - this is an attack on democracy,” he said.
“As a member of Parliament, I run my constituency office to serve the entire community, but there are terrorists still at large, still able to get their hands on explosive material, still able to plant it and yet we have a process going on of negotiation with terrorists on the part of the government and pro-Agreement parties which would rob this country of security.”
Mr Dodds said he did not know if the attack was timed to coincide with the current deadlock in the Northern Ireland peace process.
However, he added: “What it does show is that there are evil people out there who are quite prepared to use force and violence to achieve their political ends.
“This wasn’t a hoax, it wasn’t some sort of a pretence, this was the real thing, the potential for physical harm and physical damage to property was immense.”
Police confirmed the bomb, which was left close to the front door of the office, was a viable device. However, it was not 100lb in size.
A spokeswoman said: “The Army Technical Officer has made safe an improvised explosive device during an overnight security operation on the Shore Road in north Belfast.”
