PEACE IN NORTHERN Ireland “must not be taken for granted”, the UK government’s NI Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris has said.

UK MPs have acknowledged the upcoming 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement during a debate in the House of Commons today.

Heaton-Harris advised caution as he pointed to the decision by MI5 to increase the terror threat level from “substantial” to “severe”, which came after a series of incidents targeting security forces, including the attempted murder of Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell in Omagh last month.

The 25th anniversary of the Agreement, which was signed on 10 April 1998, arrives against the backdrop of a failure to restore powersharing institutions as the DUP continues to push back against the post-Brexit arrangements between the EU and UK.

Speaking in the House of Commons today, Liberal Democrat MP Christine Jardine said the debate marked an “important milestone for peace” in Northern Ireland.

“We need to be very careful that we don’t take that peace for granted,” she said.

“We have seen the threat level increase recently and increased tension and it’s as incumbent on all of us now as it was 25 years ago to do whatever we can to protect what is an ongoing process in the peace agreement.”

Heaton-Harris said that Jardine had delivered “very wise words” and later said: “The fact Northern Ireland has a locally accountable police force also demonstrates the huge progress that Northern Ireland has made.”

“However, I know events such as the abhorrent shooting of DCI John Caldwell illustrate that the peace Northern Ireland now enjoys and that we’ve all worked so hard [for] cannot and must not be taken for granted,” he said.

“I made the announcement that the Northern Ireland-related terrorism threat level has been increased by MI5 from substantial to severe.

“Coming ahead of the agreement’s 25th anniversary this news is particularly disappointing. However, it does not distract from the fact that Northern Ireland remains markedly more peaceful and reconciled than it was in 1998.

“That is a testament to the people of Northern Ireland themselves, as well as the PSNI and security services that do so much to keep us all safe.”