'No specific terror threat' to North: Orde

The North is under no specific threat after the terror attacks in London and Glasgow, police chief Hugh Orde said today.

Mr Orde said there was no intelligence indicating that those who struck in the London and at Glasgow Airport at the weekend had planned to target the North.

He was speaking following a meeting in Belfast with new Northern Ireland Secretary Shaun Woodward.

Mr Orde said: "There is no specific intelligence to suggest that Northern Ireland is under threat. This is a threat that affects the whole of the UK - it really does matter that the public are vigilant."

The North is on high alert and security levels at airports and other potential hotspots remains high.

Mr Orde added that the population in the North had long experience of the threat from paramilitary groups but said his discussions with other senior officers did not point to a Northern Ireland link at this stage.

Mr Woodward said: “It is ironic that on the first day of my being in Northern Ireland there is a critical threat. This critical threat is from a group of extremists who have nothing to do with Northern Ireland. They pose a threat to the people of Northern Ireland in a way that is totally different.”