Police Halt Nightly Closure Of Derry's Gates

Heightened security concerns have forced Derry City Council to employ a private security firm to open and close security gates around the historic city walls, (pictured).

The civilian workers are stepping in after the PSNI said: "We are no longer responsible for closing and opening the gates."

A police spokesman said although the request was prompted by an assessment of a heightened security risk to officers, the decision was not taken as a result of very recent events.

The decision was in fact made last month, weeks before the recent murders of two soldiers and a police officer by dissident republicans in other parts of Northern Ireland.

The police stopped closing the gates six weeks ago and the council's City Centre Initiative wardens temporarily took over the operation.

A spokesperson for Derry City Council said that they would employ a security firm on a six-month contract to "ensure the effective day-to-day management of the gates".

As well as hundreds of years of symbolism in 'Shutting the Gates' in the walled city - an act of 'loyalist' defiance in 1689 which is still commemorated annually - there is real precedent to danger for the police today.

Routine assignments have attracted terrorist attention in the past Troubles on many occasions.

Fresh wreaths were recently laid in Belfast's Royal Avenue to mark the spot where two young UDR soldiers - Fred Starrett and James Cummings - died two decades ago when they were shutting security gates.

An IRA bomb concealed behind hoardings around the then construction site for Castlecourt Shopping Centre was detonated as this routine assignment was undertaken, killing both soldiers.

(BMcC/JM)