The Sinn Féin MP Mr Martin McGuinness has denied a claim by the PSNI chief constable Mr Hugh Orde that elements in the Provisional IRA were involved in intimidating nationalist members of Cookstown District Policing Partnership.
On Thursday evening the Police Service of Northern Ireland warned the nine elected and independent nationalist or perceived nationalist members of the Cookstown District Policing Partnership (DPP) of the threat from "mainstream republicans aligned to the Provisional IRA".
There was no report of any threats against the remaining six members of the Cookstown DPP. The threats followed on the resignation from the Fermanagh DPP of independent member Mr Cathal O'Dolan, who faced a death threat from dissident republicans - a threat that was condemned by Sinn Féin.
Similarly, the Policing Board deputy chairman, Mr Denis Bradley, has received bullets in the post from, it is suspected, dissident republicans who were also blamed for intimidating one of the members of the Derry Policing Partnership.
In Belfast yesterday Mr Orde reiterated the PSNI claim that "mainstream republicans" were implicated in intimidating members of the Cookstown DPP. "Provisional members are intent on disrupting their lives," he said.
Mr Orde, however, said the main threat came from dissident republicans. "My big concern is the dissidents, not the Provisionals," he added.
The chief constable said the dissidents would not succeed in destroying the DPPs, which hold the police to account at local level. "The point the dissidents need to realise is this won't work. Violence doesn't work, it never has worked in Northern Ireland and that's why we are where we are today because we have beaten it to a large extent," he added.
"These people (DPP members) are brave people, they have made brave decisions and they're not going to be intimidated out of this." Mr McGuinness rejected Mr Orde's comments about the Provisional IRA.
"I am dismayed that Hugh Orde feels the need to come along and try to blacken the name of republicans, Sinn Féin in particular, on this particular issue," he said.
"I am absolutely of the view that there is no mainstream involvement in the intimidation of anyone. There are micro groups out there who have been active in this regard and our view on them is very, very clear: they should stop," added Mr McGuinness.
"In fact they should go away and catch themselves on, and disband, and recognise that their strategy is not going to succeed in bringing about the type of policing changes that Sinn Féin wants to see," he said.
