Mr Denis Bradley will not be deflected from his work on the Policing Board because of a petrol bomb attack on his home, he vowed yesterday.
A number of petrol bombs were thrown at his address in the Templemore area of Derry on Thursday evening. Some scorch damage was done but neither his wife, Mary, nor his 15-year-old son were hurt. Both were reportedly shaken by the attack which witnesses said involved a number of youths.
Mr Bradley was in Belfast at the time, meeting members of ethnic minority communities who have suffered a wave of racist attacks.
He said he would not be detracted from his work as deputy chairman of the Policing Board, which oversees the PSNI.
Mr Bradley received death threats last autumn and has received bullets in the post. Dissident republicans have also attacked and threatened members of the North's District Policing Partnerships, which provide a local input into community policing policy. He insisted yesterday he would not be quitting. "I won't be leaving any Policing Board, I won't be leaving anything. It was two children who did this to me - some adult sent them out - there was no real damage."
In a warning echoed by the local head of police, he said that if such attacks continued, someone would eventually be killed. "There will be deaths some day, someone will be killed, someone will be hurt."
Chief Supt Richard Russell said that while the damage was minimal, the consequences of the attack could have been fatal. "We could have been looking at a double fatality here. It is scandalous to attack a house with a woman and young boy inside. The potential consequences could have been disastrous."
There has been a chorus of condemnation led by the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, the Northern Ireland Office, political parties and leading clergy. Sinn Féin, which has been under pressure from Mr Bradley to sign up to the new policing arrangements and to take its seats on the Policing Board, was unequivocal. Mr Mitchel McLaughlin, the party's chairman, said those guilty were "mindless idiots".
"There can be no justification for such activity. When petrol bombs are thrown at a home the culprits must accept that their actions could end in serious injury or death."
SDLP leader Mr Mark Durkan and the Foyle MP, Mr John Hume, also condemned the attack. Mr Hume said: "Denis is doing very positive work on the Policing Board and I am certain that I speak for the vast majority of the people of this city in utterly condemning this terrible attack."
The Presbyterian Moderator, Dr Ivan McKay, said: "The citizenship and courage of Mr Bradley and those who serve on the Policing Board and District Policing Partnerships is in stark contrast to the cowardice of those who organise and carry out these scandalous attacks."