Postal workers in Derry this afternoon called off industrial action after assurances from loyalist paramilitaries they were not behind a threat to a Catholic postman.
A caller to the Samaritans last night named a Catholic postman and warned him not to enter the mainly loyalist Waterside area of the city.
The threat was not made in the name of any paramilitary organisation and did not carry any code word. However the warning was passed on to the man by police.
Coming just three weeks after the loyalist murder in North Belfast of Catholic postman Daniel McColgan and threats to other Catholic postal workers, the latest threat prompted postal workers in the city to stop work in protest and there were no deliveries in the city today.
However they agreed to return to work after representatives of the Communication Workers Union were told at a meeting with Royal Mail management they had been assured the threat was not from loyalist paramilitaries.
Royal Mail said: "We do take the safety and security of our people very seriously and have special measures in place to deal with anonymous threats to individuals as received on this occasion.
"We have received confirmation from paramilitary sources that there is no threat to postal workers and our employees have accepted this."
However the postal workers decided not to carry out deliveries during the day but the resume collections immediately and deliveries tomorrow. Royal Mail said they were "disappointed" at the move.
"We have an obligation to provide a service to our customers and are dismayed that our employees in Derry have decided to prolong this action."
A statement from the loyalist Ulster Defence Association insisting they did not threaten the man, was given to Royal Mail and read to a mass meeting of postal workers who decided to call off their action but not deliver until tomorrow.
Mr Billy Hannaway, branch secretary of the CWU, said his members were going back to work but still had some concerns.
He said: "At the end of the day there has to be something in it because the individual was named and exactly where he was delivering to."
The threatened postman was given special leave today and, said Mr Hannaway "has now been taken off that area and will not be asked to work in the Waterside".
He said despite accepting the letter from the UDA, some other postmen had reservations about delivering in the Waterside and did not want to go back. "Royal Mail will accommodate them as far as possible," he said.
Ms Annie Courtney, the SDLP Assembly member for the local Foyle constituency, condemned the threat as "horrifying", coming as it did three weeks after the murder of Mr McColgan.
The huge scale of rallies across Northern Ireland following the murder demonstrated the "total rejection" of intimidation and violence by the whole community, she said.
PA