24hr armed guard for new Garda chief Harris

High-level threat from dissidents Protection plan at advanced stage Secure house for EX-PSNI officer

A NEW house, car and 24-hour armed protection will be given to the incoming Garda Commissioner to protect him against the dissident IRA threat.

Drew Harris will take up his post in September but special measures are already being put in place for the former PSNI deputy chief constable.

There are fears Mr Harris’ work targeting dissident terrorists in Northern Ireland will put him in unprecedented danger.

A well-placed political source said: “Security plans for the new Garda leader are at an advanced stage.

“There will be a specialist armoured car and a house will be security-proofed – tens of thousands of euro have been spent on this.

“He will also be provided with close protection from specialist firearms gardai who will be with him on a 24-hour basis.

“There is a lot of concern from political quarters and indeed security experts the threat is certainly at a high level.”

The Harris family are no strangers to the horror of terrorism after the highly-experienced officer lost his father in an IRA bomb attack.

Alwyn Harris, an RUC superintendent, was murdered in 1989.

His mother survived the atrocity in which Semtex was placed under the car the couple were travelling in.

Mr Harris has had significant experience liaising with MI5 and played a key role in crushing the dissident threat in Northern Ireland. He has also worked closely with counter-terror officers in Dublin and the border regions.

He was in command of the PSNI crime operations department which included the force’s intelligence branch, major investigation teams and specialist operations section.

Mr Harris received an OBE from Queen Elizabeth in 2010.

He got the Garda job after an open campaign and his credentials as a force for change were understood to be crucial. He will take up the £220,000 per annum post for five years.

Reports before his selection claimed deputy commissioner of policing and security John Twomey and assistant commissioner of the Dublin Metropolitan Region Pat Leahy were the highlevel candidates from within the force.

PEDIGREE

The others were a female deputy chief constable from Police Scotland, assistant NYPD chief Kathleen O’reilly and a senior official at the Republic’s Department of Justice.

Mr Harris was seen as a candidate with a strong pedigree for change having spent a two-year secondment with Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland. He has a degree in politics and economics and a masters in criminology. An Office of Public Works spokesman said they were carrying out refurbishment on a property in Phoenix Park but it was part of normal works.

The Department of Justice and Policing Authority were both contacted for a comment.