A serious terrorist attack was thwarted

"A serious terrorist attack was thwarted." Those are the words of the Chief Constable during a press conference on Sunday past. He was talking about the policing operation in Garrison, County Fermanagh on Saturday night.

This is my opportunity to publicly praise the professionalism and restraint of my colleagues who were involved in this operation. A gunman fired at officers. Lives could have been lost.

We have to thank the community for their support and patience as the policing operation completes. It is that support from Garrison, and the wider Fermanagh area that sends a clear message to those intent on this terrorist criminality. They do not want these people in their midst. The actions of the community in Fermanagh has demonstrated that.

Equally, we have to be thankful that the device placed outside the Northern Ireland Policing Board in Belfast was made safe, that it did not fully detonate, as was the intent of the criminal terrorists who placed it there. Those who carried out this attack do not care about others, they put the lives of ordinary people in the Clarendon area at risk.

We have the resources to police a terrorist threat. And we will do so. but equally importantly to the majority of people living here, we will continue to deliver a normal day to day policing service, tackling the issues that matter to you and your neighbourhoods. Christmas is almost upon us, I want to work to ensure that all the people living here have a peaceful and happy one. And you can be assured that we will be working hard to do this.