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MI5 cannot afford to cut resources dedicated to fighting terrorism in Northern Ireland due to the risk of increased violence in the event of a hard or no-deal Brexit, Parliament’s intelligence and security committee (ISC) warned .
The watchdog said dissident republicanism remained resilient, actively recruiting young members, and could further inflame if “border infrastructure” reappeared along the border with the Republic of Ireland.
“Any infrastructure erected on the Irish border to handle security or customs checks would immediately become a target,” the cross-party committee said, “and increase the risk of political violence in border areas.”
MI5 dedicated 20% of its resources to fighting terrorism in Northern Ireland in the year to March 2018 and the ISC said “any changes at this time would appear premature in light of the uncertainty” posed by the impending Brexit conclusion. trade negotiations this year.
While most of the terror threat in Northern Ireland comes from dissident Republicans, the ISC also said that Brexit could “reignite the threat from loyalist groups that have previously held a ceasefire.”
Committee members sought assurances from MI5 that it could cope with a sudden deterioration in the security situation, although the agency’s full response was drafted. “I think we can be reasonably safe,” he began, before being interrupted for security reasons.
The UK, Ireland and the EU have said they are well aware of the security risks if the Brexit talks were to break down to a point where a hard border would have to be reintroduced on the island of Ireland. A final agreement has not yet been reached as negotiations on a trade agreement reach their critical stage.
Dissident republicanism is concentrated in four small groups, the most active of which is the New IRA, which admitted to being behind the murder of journalist Lyra McKee, 29, who was shot and killed in April 2019 while observing riots in Derry.
Despite public disgust at the carnage, the number of attacks has risen from very low levels.
In 2018, only one dissident Republican terrorist attack was carried out. Last year there were three successful attacks with improvised explosive devices. One was a postal bomb sent to Heathrow Airport that partially exploded. At least six others failed.
Labor MP Kevan Jones and SNP MP Stewart Hosie, who served on the ISC during the last parliament when the report was largely drafted, said: “Terrorism related to Northern Ireland has not gone away. The threat requires sustained pressure, more now than ever ”.
In September last year, the head of the Northern Ireland Police Service said he wanted to recruit 800 more officers to deal with increased paramilitary activity. Of particular concern was the growing strength of the New IRA, which appeared to be consolidating some members of other dissident groups.
The ISC, a special committee of parliamentarians and peers, acts as the parliamentary watchdog of Britain’s spy agencies, including MI5.
