Police warned that IRA may use any new border posts as ambush sites

‘What these groups are doing is not a result of Brexit, but they are keen to capitalise on the instability’

THE IRA is plotting to use any customs posts that emerge near the Irish border after Brexit as ambush sites where they would lure and attempt to kill British police officers.

Mark Lindsay, head of Northern Ireland’s policing union, told The Daily Telegraph that although the number of active IRA terrorists has dwindled to around 100, they remain a “small but deadly” force.

“There could be some interference with infrastructure, I would say that is quite a strong possibility. It could be used to lure police into an area,” he said.

It came as Boris Johnson was warned by security chiefs that a no-deal Brexit would heighten the risk of attacks by Republican dissidents, both in Northern Ireland and the mainland.

As a result, Mr Johnson desperately wants to secure a Brexit deal, according to The Sunday Times.

“We have seen in the past year that they have carried out a wide range of attacks, such as bombs under cars, secondary devices, rockets have been discovered… we have seen the full range of terrorist technology being deployed against officers,” added Mr Linsday. “But they are small in number. Any campaign they carry out will not be on the same scale [as the Troubles].”

It comes after Simon Byrne, chief constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, announced he would not set up patrols on the Irish border in a no-deal Brexit and instead respond to incidents on a case-by-case basis.

“If we have intelligence about threats to people from other agencies, such as customs or the border force working in a particular place where they are vulnerable to attack, we will send officers to protect them,” he said.

The service says it is preparing for every scenario if the UK leaves without a deal, including civil unrest and terrorist plots from IRA supporters who are exploiting uncertainty about a hard border.

He also warned Boris Johnson in a “candid” video call that it will be “nigh on impossible” to police the border unless he is provided with more officers.

Northern Ireland’s police officers have seen their annual leave restricted in October and November in case a hard border emerges.

The Republic of Ireland is also ramping up preparations to police the border. In September, Drew Harris, the Garda Commissioner, said an armed unit would be deployed in Cavan, which is a 20-minute drive from the southern side of the border.

Instead of erecting physical checkpoints, Dublin proposes mobile customs units to monitor smuggling – a major source of income for the IRA.

This will be accompanied by an increased police presence along the border to clamp down on dissident activity.

Over the past year, two groups, known as the New IRA and the Continuity IRA, have claimed responsibility for attacks on civilians and police, as well as the murder of a young journalist in Londonderry.

In January, the New IRA planted a car bomb outside a courthouse in Londonderry which exploded just minutes after a group of youngsters had walked past. Then in April, 29-year-old journalist Lyra Mckee was shot dead by an IRA gunman while observing a riot.

It is understood that the attacker had been aiming at an armoured police vehicle nearby.

In August, the Continuity IRA attempted to lure police to the site of a bomb in Fermanagh, near the southern edge of the border. Although the device detonated without warning, no one was injured. Last month, Kevin Lunney, a director with Quinn Industrial Holdings, was kidnapped and tortured by a suspected paramilitary group as he left work.

The company, which has extensive operations on both sides of the border, had been subjected to intimidation tactics for several years.

There have also been a series of grisly “kneecapping” incidents, suspected to involve IRA supporters who believe they are providing justice in communities that do not engage with the police.

Dr Marisa Mcglinchey, an assistant professor in political science at the University of Coventry, and author of a book on Irish republican dissidents, Unfinished Business, said the motivation of such groups was complex.

“They key point is that this is not a response to Brexit,” she said. “These organisations say what they are doing is not a result of Brexit, but they are keen to capitalise on the instability.

“They are recruiting from the hardcore Irish Republican base and they see themselves as the latest phase in a long campaign for Irish unity, a part of a long tradition.”