Officer was ‘courageous symbol of change’

In a statement on Monday he said “the murder of Constable Ronan Kerr was despicable and calculated”.

Claiming that the killing was a strike agains tthe democratic process, he said: “His killers were striking not only against the young officer and the PSNI, but against us, the community, who have voted for peace instead of war.

“We, the people of the island – North and South – have voted overwhelmingly for a new way forward. We have voted for power-sharing at Stormont and for a new start to policing. We have voted for a service that is professional, fair and accountable, and representative of the society it protects. Constable Kerr was a courageous, young symbol of that change.

“The people who killed him portray their actions as part of a war against Britain. In reality they are at war with the Irish people, who have rejected their methods and refused them a mandate.

“The fact that the bombers again chose Omagh, and another Saturday afternoon, for their latest murderous attack shows how far out of touch they are with the rest of Ireland. The minute’s silence observed at many GAA grounds was an indication of how the Irish people really feel about the dissidents’ activities.

“This latest Omagh bombing was an assault on the democratic process. So was last week’s attempt to destroy Derry courthouse. So were the previous bombings of Strand Road police station and the Ulster Bank in Derry.

“I offer my sympathy to Constable Kerr’s family on their profound and heart-breaking loss, and hope they will find some consolation in the breadth of condemnation his murder has brought. I endorse his mother’s hope that her son’s death won’t have been in vain,” he said.