Speaking today, Carla Lockhart said:



“The New IRA are no different to the Provisional IRA and, ultimately, they will be defeated just as they were. These are the same failed tactics, driven by the same destructive ideology, which brought nothing but suffering to our communities.

“Thankfully, even the Provisional IRA eventually had to accept that their campaign of murder and mayhem achieved very little. People in Northern Ireland have moved on, and there is no appetite whatsoever for being dragged back into the darkness of the past.

“Any right-thinking person will utterly condemn these individuals, whose only apparent aim is to gain notoriety or status through acts of intimidation and violence, as they seek to disrupt communities this weekend.

“Even Sinn Fein have condemned this attack, despite their lauding of similar actions carried out by the Provisional IRA.

“This violence was not wanted then, and it is not wanted now. I would urge anyone with information about those responsible to come forward to the PSNI and assist in bringing them to justice.”