Robin Newton MBE MLA

Robin Newton East Belfast DUP MLA has responded to the Independent Monitoring Commission (IMC) report confirming that dissident republicans are an increasing threat. The DUP MLA.said this confirmation by the IMC following on from this weeks identified skills gap in policing experience will cause concern to the wider public.

Robin Newton said,

“The UUP-supported Patten Report, destroyed the RUC  and made experienced officers redundant. The PSNI is now facing this serious challenge lacking many of the skills and knowledge it needs at senior levels.

As the dissidents attempt to increase their level of violence and bring the community back to days of  bloodshed the experience of Special Branch will be sadly missed. Left to its own strategy and tactics there can be no doubt that Special Branch would have been able to counter this threat.

The IMC report indicates dissidents may well not be able to maintain a sustained terrorist campaign; they don’t have to create mayhem.  Unless the skills gap is addressed, experience brought up to the standard of the RUC Special Branch, and these militant republican organisations destroyed then we are in for some difficult days.”