Bishop condemns bomb attack on army base

The Bishop of Down and Dromore says the bomb attack on a British army base in Northern Ireland will not derail the peace process.

The Real IRA claimed responsibility for the car bomb, which exploded outside MI5’s Northern Ireland headquarters in Holywood, Co Down, just after midnight on Sunday. The explosion injured an elderly passer-by but did not cause major damage.

It is believed the explosion was timed to coincide with the devolution of police and justice powers from Westminster to Stormont minutes earlier.

Bishop Harold Miller said the bomb attack was “shocking”.

“Shocking because no warning was given, and the lives of many people were put at risk. This attack timed to coincide with the day when Policing and Justice is devolved to Northern Ireland reveals for all to see the barrenness of violence in our community,” he said.

“We are determined as a society here in Northern Ireland to walk confidently into the future and to create a community of justice and wellbeing for all.

“That is the desire of all but the few dissidents and we will never allow them to deflect us from the ways of peace and prosperity.”

Taoiseach Brian Cowen condemned the attack yesterday, calling it a “very futile act”. He said dissident republicans would be “dealt with accordingly”.

The attack will be seen as an embarrassing failure on the part of Northern Ireland intelligence. It follows a car bomb explosion outside the courthouse in Newry last month, the first successfully detonated car bomb by dissident republicans in almost a decade.