Members of Castlereagh policing board in east Belfast who have been threatened by dissident republicans will not be intimidated, their chairman insisted today.
Mr Michael Copeland was commenting after an alleged threat from the "Real IRA" was passed on to a south Belfast newspaper.
"This threat is contemptible," the Ulster Unionist councillor said. "As a group they pepper their statements with words such as law, justice and peace but their only contribution towards any of these ends has been kangaroo courts, kneecappings and murder.
"I wish to reassure the public that the Castlereagh DPP will not be deflected from discharging its duty of care towards the public, nor will I as chairman allow any laxity in the conduct of the PSNI, the Policing Board or the Northern Ireland Office in this matter."
Northern Ireland's 26 district policing partnerships (DPP) liaise with police chiefs on local policing issues. Two members of DPPs in Fermanagh and Cookstown have quit after threats from republicans.
The "Real IRA" has claimed all DPPs are legitimate targets. The group has been blamed for the bulk of the threats in recent days.
Attacks have also taken place on cars belonging to local policing board members in Strabane and Derry. The vice chairman of the Policing Board for Northern Ireland, Mr Denis Bradley, who has denounced the threats as "bully" tactics, was also threatened.
The police say members of the Provisional IRA were also involved in threats against district policing partnership board members in Cookstown, Co Tyrone.
But Chief Constable Hugh Orde's claim has been denied by Sinn Féin.
Nationalist SDLP leader Mr Mark Durkan has called on the Provisional IRA to provide more reassurance to DPP members by publicly distancing itself from the threats.