Police in Scotland arrest man over PC Kerr killing

The news comes just hours after the funeral of PC Kerr in the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Beragh, Co Tyrone, where political leaders from both sides of the Irish border carried the coffin in a show of unity.

PC Kerr, 25, was killed when a booby-trap bomb exploded under his car in Omagh on Saturday. His murder, blamed on dissident republicans opposed to the peace process, has provoked cross-community condemnation.

The suspect, aged 26, was detained in Renton, Dunbartonshire, while detectives who seized the arms haul in east Tyrone described as the “most significant in recent years”. The arms, including Kalashnikov rifles, rocket launcher components and possibly Semtex explosive, were discovered last night in Coalisland, east Tyrone.

A spokeswoman for Strathclyde Police said: “Strathclyde Police can confirm that a 26-year-old male was arrested at approximately 1.10pm on Main Street, Renton, Dunbartonshire. This arrest was made by Strathclyde Police officers in relation to an ongoing investigation led by the Police Service of Northern Ireland.”

Assistant Chief Constable Drew Harris revealed the details of the arrest and the arms find at a police press conference in Belfast.

He said: “This 26-year-old suspect is being brought back to Northern Ireland for questioning. Colleagues from Strathclyde Police assisted PSNI detectives in the arrest operation.”

He added: “Inside the unit police officers uncovered a number of stolen vehicles and inside those vehicles a significant amount of arms and munitions.

“The haul included: four rifles, ammunition, timer power units, detonators, incendiary bombs, components for rocket launchers and other explosive devices, and a quantity of explosives, possibly Semtex.”

“Older, more experienced provisionals are involved. That means they know where the arms are and also know how to use them, i.e. to make bombs.” Prof Max Taylor

Professor Max Taylor of The Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence (CSTPV), told Channel 4 News that the sophisticated nature of the PC Kerr’s murder points to the re-emergence of some of Ireland’s “old provisionals” – those who were involved with the IRA in the 1970s and 80s.

“This attack is very different and unusual from the others that have gone before it recently: it is clear that Northern Ireland’s dissents have become more powerful and noisier. It is also clear that older, more experienced provisionals are involved. That means they know where the arms are and also know how to use them, i.e. to make bombs.”

Prof Taylor said that Northern Ireland’s dissident groups are now made up of a “dangerous” combination of veterans from the Troubles and young men who did not experience the decades of violence and bloodshed.

“The young ones wouldn’t have suffered through the hardships of those times. As a result, they are influenced by the romanitic tales of a free Ireland and tradition, and now have the experience of the old provisionals,” he said.

Prof Taylor suggested that it is time for the British government to change its approach towards dissidents in Northern Ireland.

“There has long been a consistent view that Irish terrorism is not like other terrorism, that it has certain qualities and characteristics which means it should be treated in a different way. Irish terrorism has, for example, been treated differently than jihadi terrorism,” said the author of Dissident Irish Republicanism.

“But because these dissidents have little public support and will not compromise with the government, because they will only cease if the British leave Ireland, maybe it is time to think of these people in the same way that we think of other terrorists.”