THE IRA could launch another bomb attack on Northern Ireland or Britain at any time, the incoming Chief Constable of the RUC has warned.
"It might be tomorrow, it might be next week, it might be the month before Christmas," said the RUC's Deputy Chief Constable, Mr Ronnie Flanagan.
Asked if he had information about an imminent attack, he said: "I'm not going to go into details about intelligence, but the threat has to be said to exist."
But he dismissed as "speculation" reports that the IRA plans an attack to avenge last month's fatal shooting by police of an IRA member, Diarmuid O'Neill, in London. "I'm not so certain it would be carried out for the purpose of revenge," he said.
Mr Flanagan agreed with the assessment of the outgoing RUC Chief Constable, Sir Hugh Annesley, that an IRA ceasefire will follow after a period of violence. "I think everybody has to agree with that," he said. What was less clear was "the question of timing as to when an ultimate cessation might come about".
Mr Flanagan, who succeeds Sir Hugh next month, also agreed with the Chief Constable that some legal action may be necessary to increase the number of Catholics in the RUC, currently standing at eight per cent of the force.
He said that the relatively low recruitment level meant that even an equal intake of Catholics and Protestants over the next few years would not redress the imbalance.
Mr Flanagan was in Dublin yesterday for the announcement by Special Olympics Ireland that it had raised £112,000 during its "Torch Run" last June. The event, involving members of the Garda and RUC, had helped "thousands of people with a learning difficulty gain greater self-esteem and self-confidence through sport", said Mr Cyril Freaney, chairman of the organisation.