Northern Ireland-terrorism 'increasing threat' to Britain

The threat from Northern Ireland-related terrorism to large Britain has increased, the government's new counter-terrorism strategy says.
The strategy concentrates on global terrorism and potential threats to the Olympic Games.

Support for dissident republican terrorists in NI remains low, it says.
But it notes the frequency of attacks within Northern Ireland has risen significantly from 22 in 2009 to 40 in 2010, and 16 attacks so far this year.
It claims many more attack has been successfully disrupted.

Whilst the level of the terrorist threat within Northern Ireland is rated as rigorous, in Great Britain the threat level is considered substantial, meaning there is a strong possibility of an attack.

The Home Office says it will work with the Stormont government to make sure any changes are compliant with the legal system in Northern Ireland.

The strategy states that important additional funding has already been given to the PSNI to build its capabilities to investigate and disrupt terrorist attacks over the next four years.

It adds that an important percentage of security service operational resources will remain devoted to Northern Ireland-related terrorism.