MPs warn threat from dissident republican groups ‘has not decreased’ and Brexit could be used as a rallying point to recruit new members
- Intelligence and Security Committee published new report on Northern Ireland
- Said dissident republican groups are ‘resilient’, can still cause ‘serious damage’
- Committee warned Brexit could act as a rallying point for groups like New IRA
The threat posed by dissident republican groups ‘has not decreased’ and Brexit could be used as a recruiting tool for new members, an influential committee of MPs has warned.
A new report published by Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) said the number of attacks last year showed terror groups are ‘resilient, and retain both the intent and capability to cause serious damage’.
The report into Northern Ireland-related terrorism also expressed concerns about the ‘significant numbers of young people’ who are being recruited and at the amount of time it can take for legal proceedings against suspected terrorists to conclude.
On Brexit, the committee said that the UK’s departure from the European Union had led to ‘uncertainty’ which could be capitalised on.
It warned that any post-Brexit border infrastructure ‘would inevitably be used as a recruiting tool’.
Parliament’s influential Intelligence and Security Committee today warned the threat posed by dissident republican groups ‘has not decreased’
The report said there were four attacks by dissident republican (DR) groups in 2019 after the number of Northern Ireland-related terror attacks had decreased in preceding years.
The committee said the ‘number of attacks in 2019 demonstrates that the main DR groups are resilient, and retain both the intent and capability to cause serious damage’.
It added the attacks show that the threat posed by such groups ‘has not decreased’.
The committee said that based on the evidence provided by the security services ‘MI5 does not view total suppression as realistic’.
The security services told the committee they ‘do not proceed with an assumption that we can continue to drive [Northern Ireland-related terrorism attacks] down to zero’.
‘That looks to us to be an undeliverable goal, albeit one we should always strive towards,’ they said.
The MPs warned removing any security focus away from activity in Northern Ireland would be ‘premature in light of the uncertainty posed by the UK’s exit from the European Union’.
They warned that ‘border infrastructure would be symbolic for DR groups, and would inevitably be used as a recruiting tool’.
The committee said Northern Ireland-related terrorism ‘requires sustained pressure and resources must be maintained’.
It concluded: ‘This is more important now than ever. Any border infrastructure resulting from Brexit will be both a target and a recruiting badge for Dissident Republican groups, who have until now used the impasse in Stormont to justify their cause and bolster their numbers.
‘This Committee would not support the use of any hard border infrastructure, and recommends that this be taken into account in any final settlement in relation to the border with the Republic of Ireland.’