By PA reporter
Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis has criticised the “cowardly” fireball bomb bid on a police officer.
The New IRA have been blamed for planting a bomb at the part-time female officer’s home near Dungiven, Co Londonderry.
Speaking in the House of Commons, Mr Lewis said: “I’m sure that the whole House will join me in offering my support and thoughts to the PSNI officer who was subject to a cowardly attack earlier this week.
“Those who attack our public servants and emergency services personnel have nothing to offer the community they claim to represent.
“I’m sure the whole community will join everybody across this House in support for that officer and will come forward hopefully with any information they may have to help bring those responsible to justice swiftly.”
Shadow minister Alex Davies-Jones (Pontypridd) asked about the role of social media in recent unrest in Northern Ireland.
She said that as recently as Monday “anonymous social media accounts were still being used to exploit the situation and lure young people to the interface in Belfast with provocative messages inflaming an already tense situation”.
Brandon Lewis said: “It is important that we are very alert to the risks around social media, people looking at social media are alert to who may or may not be behind the encouragement to do things in a hugely inappropriate way that can ruin their lives and the lives of others.
“Yes, this is something we are taking on board and working on with the social media companies, absolutely.”
Shadow Northern Ireland secretary Louise Haigh called on the British-Irish Council to meet “urgently” following disruptions in Northern Ireland.
Ms Haigh told the Commons: “In the 23 years since the Belfast Good Friday Agreement it is not an exaggeration to say that the peace process has never been as vulnerable as it is now.
“The Secretary of State bares a responsibility to help stabilise the situation, so will he ensure that the British-Irish Council is now urgently convened to give Northern Ireland representatives a voice in discussions around the protocol and huge decisions about their own future?”
Brandon Lewis replied: “Yes. I would suggest (Ms Haigh)… if she looks back a while ago actually, we announced that the British-Irish Council would meet on June 11.”
He added that regular meetings “have never stopped”, with the last one happening in “November last year”.
SDLP MP Colum Eastwood (Foyle) said the country needs an “active and engaged and interested” Prime Minister in dealing with the Northern Ireland peace process.
Mr Eastwood told the Commons: “Dissident republicans tried to murder a police officer and her young child in County Derry this week.
“Can I take this opportunity as an Irish nationalist to send those dissident republicans a very clear message – your quarrel is not with the police, it is not with the British state, it is with the people of Ireland, and that is a battle that you will never, ever win.
“Given the Prime Minister’s very speedy response to an issue about football, as important as that is, compared to his response and the quickness of his response in terms of violence on the streets of Northern Ireland for almost 10 days, does the Secretary of State agree with me that we need an active and engaged and interested Prime Minister in terms of dealing with our peace process?”
Brandon Lewis replied: “Yes, absolutely, and I am proud of the fact that we do. We have a Prime Minister who is very much engaged.”
Mr Lewis added: “The Prime Minister has been actively involved, he has been in full communication all the way through this process.”
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