Baggott: Dissident threat 'severe' as Ford elected Justice Minister

The PSNI Chief Constable Matt Baggott has said the threat from dissident republicans who attacked the MI5 headquarters in Co Down is "severe".

A car bomb exploded outside Palace Barracks in Holywood minutes after security powers were transferred from London to Belfast at midnight.

The Real IRA claimed responsibility.

Matt Baggott said he was saddened by the incident, where a taxi driver was taken hostage in north Belfast and held for two hours before being forced to drive the device to Palace Barracks near where MI5 is based.

Most of the damage was confined to the perimeter of the base and there were no serious injuries.

Security personnel were evacuating the area when the device exploded and some of the 30 to 40 fleeing residents dived for cover to avoid shrapnel.

Mr Baggott said: “The threat is very severe and there are a significant minority of people who want to take us back to the past in the very worst sense that could bring.”

One elderly man was slightly injured in the 12.24am attack after he was walking nearby when the device exploded.

Meanwhile, Alliance Party leader David Ford has been elected the first Justice Minister in the North in 38 years.

He said: "We need to ensure that those who have direct operational reponsibility are given the resources and the supprt from the whole community."

Martin McGuinness said: “Anyone seeking to obstruct the progress we are making should recognise our determination to deliver a shared society based on respect and tolerance.

"They will not achieve the destruction of either the peace process or the political process, both of which remain rock solid.”