NI Conservatives’ vice chairman, Trevor Ringland, has described yesterday’s ambush of three police officers in the Foxes Glen area as “an attack on the community in west Belfast as well as an appalling murder attempt”.
“The latest attempt to kill police officers confirms that there is a tiny, deranged minority of fanatics who are determined to drag Northern Ireland back into the violent past”, Trevor observed. “As a society we must send out a clear message that they will not succeed and that we are determined to move forwards together towards a hopeful, peaceful shared future.”
“An attack on a police officer is a particularly loathsome act, because it is an attack on the safety of our whole community. NI Conservatives echo the home secretary, Theresa May, when she calls for the murder of police officers who are in the course of their duties to carry a whole life sentence, where life means life. Any such change should extend to Northern Ireland.”
“The attack in Foxes Glen took place in the middle of the day in a busy street, with many children about. Not only did the perpetrators attempt to take the life of three officers, they were also completely reckless about the lives of passers-by, families and children in the surrounding area. There is no place in our society for this type of incident and it should make us even more determined to get on with the hard-work of healing divisions in our community”.