Alliance Cllr hits out at hijack "fascists"

2.20.01pm BST (GMT +0100) Tue 27th Jun 2006

Newtownabbey Alliance Councillor Tom Campbell

Newtownabbey Alliance Councillor Tom Campbell has hit out at the "fascists" who were involved in the hijacking of a bus in the Glengormley area, describing them as having no support in the community.

Cllr Campbell, who represents the Antrim Line area on Newtownabbey Borough Council, said: "Although the device left has been declared a hoax the clear intention was to terrorise those on board and the wider community. The passengers and driver will not have known that the device was a hoax and this will not have minimised the shock and upset that they will have suffered.

"It may also have been the intention of those involved to destabilise community relations. As a community people in this area want to get on with their lives and want nothing to do with such persons. It is not clear at this stage whether this was an amateur attack or had more sinister hands behind it and I would ask people not to jump to conclusions at this early stage. If the intention was to stir up tension the best way of proving these people wrong is to ignore them. Clearly if anyone has information which might be of use in bring those involved to justice I would ask them to contact the Police. Sometimes the smallest piece of information can be the vital link in leading to an arrest."

ENDS