The murder of two young British soldiers at a barracks in Antrim at the weekend, followed by the shooting dead of a policeman in Armagh on Monday night, has raised the spectre of sectarian war returning to Northern Ireland, almost 11 years after the Good Friday agreement set the province on the path to power-sharing between the communities.

These attacks are a provocation, by a rump force of doctrinaire Republicans, who are a serious but ultimately residual security problem. They have no political influence. Their bait must not be taken.