'Terrorism will always be wrong': UUP leader Jon Burrows condemns car explosion outside police station
Ulster Unionist leader Jon Burrows says "cowardly terrorists will never win" after reports of a car explosion near a police station on the outskirts of Belfast.
Police were tasked to the scene of an incident late on Saturday night and into the early hours of Sunday morning in the Kingsway area of Dunmurry.
As a result, homes have been evacuated and members of the public have been advised to avoid the area.
Officers are currently at the scene with the PSNI stating that "an update will follow in due course".
Responding to the incident, Mr Burrows - who served as a police officer for 22 years and held a number of key leadership positions in Foyle, Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon, and finally Head of the PSNI’s Discipline Branch - wrote on social media: "Last night’s terrorist attack in Dunmurry was another display of cowardly criminality, almost certainly committed by dissident republicans. It should be utterly condemned by everyone.
"Whilst these groups have been heavily degraded by effective law enforcement, they retain some capacity and still harbour the intent to maim, murder and destroy.
"The PSNI are often the target of these dissident groups - but these terrorists don’t care who else gets hurt or traumatised.
"They are desperate, depraved and morally bankrupt gangsters - seeking to drag Northern Ireland back to darker days. They will fail, just as their predecessors did."
The UUP leader also offered his support to everyone caught up in the attack and stated how he wishes the PSNI “every success” in their quest for justice.
His statement on social media added: “My thoughts are with everyone affected by last night’s attack — those evacuated from their homes, the victim of the car hijacking, victims of terrorism in the past who will be traumatised by these scenes, and the brave PSNI officers and staff, and their families, who live under the threat of dissident republicans every day.
“I wish the PSNI every success in bringing those responsible to justice and in dismantling the remaining dissident republican gangs.
“Terrorism is wrong. It was always wrong. It will always be wrong.”