The mother of a Catholic policeman killed by a car bomb in Northern Ireland yesterday has joined appeals for information on the crime – and paid tribute to her son.
Constable Ronan Kerr, 25, had been in the force for less than a year when he died in an explosion outside his home in Omagh, County Tyrone, in an attack thought to have been carried out by dissident republicans opposed to the peace process.
Nuala Kerr urged people to help the police find his killers. She said: "Someone knows something. Please come forward and do the right thing.”
Mrs Kerr added that the impact of her son’s death was being felt far beyond his family – and that it should not deter Catholics from joining the police, saying: “It's a sad day for our community. Ronan was a valued member and he had so much to offer.
"This is at a time when we are striving for a neutral police force for the good of our country and I urge all Catholic members not to be deterred.
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"We all need to stand up and be counted and to strive for equality. We don't want to go back into the dark days again of fear and terror."
Mrs Kerr also issued a family tribute to Ronan. She said: "On behalf of myself, Ronan's mum, his two brothers Cathair and Aaron and loving sister Dairine we would like to pay a special tribute to Ronan.
"He was a wonderful son and brother, always had a smile and a helping hand for everyone.
"He had all the attributes of a great police officer - fair, empathetic, intelligent, humorous, a great communicator and loyal to all who knew him. And he just loved his work."
Northern Ireland's First Minister, Peter Robinson, who visited the Kerr family on Sunday to express his sympathy, condemned the murder.
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"I couldn't help but get the feeling that after this there was someone, either here, or across the border who was pleased with their days work," he said.
"They think they have done something that furthers their cause but if they had spoken to the people that I have spoken to, they would know that this community is solidly standing against them.
"We must give whatever support we can to the police. We are the eyes and ears of the PSNI.
"Anyone that has information, we really do urge them to pass that information on. This community has entered a new era and we will not be dragged back.
"The condemnation of every section of our community falls upon those responsible."
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Politicians in the UK and Ireland have joined in the criticism of the atrocity. David Cameron, the British prime minister, called the bombing “wicked and cowardly”, while his Irish counterpart, Enda Kenny, described it as a “heinous and pointless act of terrorism”.
Sinn Féin's president, Gerry Adams, sent his condolences to the family of the murdered officer. "Sinn Féin is determined that those responsible will not set back the progress of the pace and political process," Adams said.
A police recruitment policy that said half of all new recruits must be Catholic was instituted in 2001 when the Royal Ulster Constabulary was replaced by the Police Service of Northern Ireland.
By the time the policy, which was aimed at making the police more accepted in nationalist areas, ended last week three in ten officers were Catholic.
But dissident republicans have targeted Catholic officers and yesterday’s bomb was the most recent of several booby traps placed under the cars of police officers, most of which have failed to detonate.