Police in Northern Ireland are admitting to a “security breach” after a document reportedly containing details of officer deployments in the city of Belfast — where President Biden is visiting Wednesday — was found on the street.
The BBC is reporting that a member of the public called into one of its radio programs on Wednesday morning to say that he found the five-page document, which he says is marked “sensitive” and has details such as road closures and police contact information, on Tuesday night.
“We are aware of a security breach,” the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) told the news agency in a statement, adding they believe the man found an “operational order,” which has information about officer deployments in Belfast. “An investigation has commenced and we have notified the senior information risk officer.
“We take the safety of visiting dignitaries, members of the public and our officers and staff extremely seriously and will put the appropriate actions in place,” the PSNI also said.
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In a statement obtained by Fox News, U.S. Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said the agency has been informed by the PSNI of “media reports regarding a potentially sensitive document, which may contain law-enforcement material.”
“While we do not discuss the specifics of any protective operation, the President’s movements were not affected by these reports,” he added, noting how Jocelyn Keaveny, the special agent in charge of the Paris field office and the senior Secret Service official on the visit, “expressed her highest confidence in our Irish and European partners and the ongoing security of the visit.”
President Biden is visiting Belfast for the first time during his presidency to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, which formally ended decades of “the Troubles,” a violent conflict between Protestant Unionists loyal to the Crown and Catholic Republicans supportive of a unified Ireland.
Air Force One landed late Tuesday night in the Northern Ireland capital, and along with his son Hunter and sister Valerie Biden Owens, Biden was joined by U.S. envoy to Northern Ireland Joseph Patrick Kennedy III, a grandnephew of the late President John F. Kennedy.
Biden was photographed meeting with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in Belfast on Wednesday.
U.S. involvement was key to negotiating the Good Friday accord, which largely ended decades of sectarian violence that killed more than 3,600 people. While that peace has endured, Northern Ireland is currently without a functioning government.
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Stormont, the seat of its assembly, has been suspended since the Democratic Unionist Party, which formed half of a power-sharing government, walked out a year ago over a post-Brexit trade dispute. Biden will meet Wednesday with the leaders of Northern Ireland’s five main political parties.
Prior to the president’s trip, security concerns were heightened after gasoline bombs were lobbed at law enforcement by demonstrators in Derry/Londonderry, a hot spot of violence during the Troubles.
Police also foiled a bomb plot planned by the “New IRA” members ahead of Biden’s visit.
Diplomatic intentions aside, Biden also plans to meet with distant relatives during the trip, as the president has frequently stated how important his Irish heritage was in shaping who he is.
Fox News’ Patrick Ward and Greg Wehner and The Associated Press contributed to this report.