VIDEO EXCLUSIVE: 'New IRA upping tempo in deadly operations'

A leading counter terrorism expert with decades of experience in Northern Ireland’s policing has laid out exactly how the New IRA operates.

And in an exclusive interview with Downtown & Cool FM Ken Pennington has warned that ‘Brexit’ day – October 31 – the deadline for when the UK leaves the EU – could see a major attack from the dissident republicans.

Mr Pennington was a PSNI superintendent and served with police here for 30 years, before branching out on his own into counter terrorism.

He now fronts ‘The Last Castle’

Mr Pennington says in much the same way as “grooming” the terrorists are recruited.

“It’s very much the same as in human trafficking – as grooming people,” he said.

“You are going to move people from a place where what they think like killing people, is abhorrent to where it’s ago.”

He said the New IRA is already increasing its activities.

“They are going to try to get the weapons – you are already starting to see in the media, the finds of weapons- that’s weapons being moved out of deep hides where they’re secure to transit hides where they’re passed to people who are going to mount the attacks,” he said.

Mr Pennington said incidents this year like the Bishops Street car bomb in Londonderry, the murder of Lyra McKee and the recent attempted murder of an officer in East Belfast are all worrying.

And he claimed, for the terrorists, it was all about building maximum exposure

“On a European scale this is like the fall of the Berlin Wall – the day that happens the world’s press will be here and they will seek to capitalise on that,” he said.

“So I think the upping of the tempo of their operations has two aims – there’s one to recruit and two, to gain publicity.

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• Counter Terrorism