Joe Biden defiant over Northern Ireland visit, says 'can't keep me out'

Amid a surge in nationalist militancy in Northern Ireland, the U.K. government raised the threat of a terrorist attack to "severe" this week, but President Biden remains undeterred from his upcoming visit. Speaking to reporters before his trip to the U.K. to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement on April 10, 1998, Biden stated that he could not be kept out. Last year, Britain's MI5 intelligence agency had lowered the threat level of a domestic terrorist attack in Northern Ireland, but it has now been raised back to "severe," indicating a high likelihood of an attack, as per a report from Fox news.

Authorities were forced to raise the threat level following several recent attacks on police officers in Northern Ireland, including one in which an off-duty officer was targeted while loading soccer balls into his car last month. Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell was shot several times by two gunmen after a children's soccer practice, a reminder of the violence that was common during the 30-year period of unrest in Northern Ireland known as "The Troubles." According to the report, over 300 police officers were killed during this period of violence that unfolded between Irish nationalist militants and pro-U.K. unionists from the late 1960s through the late 1990s.

British deputy PM expresses "disappointment"

Although violent attacks in Northern Ireland had decreased significantly following the Good Friday Agreement, nationalist dissidence has not completely disappeared. The U.K. government had maintained the threat level regarding a terrorist attack at the highest "severe" ranking for 12 years before lowering it in 2022. Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab called the need to raise the threat level "disappointing," but noted that republican attacks have been on the decline since peaking in 2009 and 2010. The New IRA, a dissident group that broke away from the political opposition party Sinn Féin after the 1998 peace deal, has limited support in Northern Ireland as the major political parties reject their violent tactics. Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Chris Heaton-Harris has urged the public to remain vigilant and report any concerns to the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI).