LIVE bullets and death threats have been sent to the home of Scotland's anti-sectarianism 'tsar'.
Dr Duncan Morrow, who continues to head the Scottish Government's expert group on the issue, was one of two Alliance Party figures targeted at the weekend.
A bullet was hand delivered to Dr Morrow's Belfast home on Friday night, with the academic and former Community Relations Council chief insisting he would not be deterred by the threat.
The Alliance Party has been under a campaign of intimidation, bomb threats and attacks on its offices over the last 18 months.
The attacks began after a decision by Belfast City Council to limit the flying of the Union flag over the civic building to designated days.
Dr Morrow was appointed to his post by the Scottish Government in 2012 and delivered preliminary findings last Christmas.
The Advisory Group On Tackling Sectarianism reported the problem required to be tackled with the same vigour as racism and homophobia, that the issue neither stemmed from nor was the responsibility of denominational schooling and required no new laws to deal with it.
The group has a remit to look at criteria for assessing funding applications, write reports on evidence about sectarianism and develop a research process.
It has urged local government to take action based on a forthcoming academic report on parades and processions.
Dr Morrow said those responsible for the latest threat are "mistaken if they believe that this will stop us from continuing our work to deliver a shared future for everyone in our society".
He said: "They offer Belfast nothing and only wish to see a return to the dark days of the past."
Alliance Belfast Councillor Emmet McDonough-Brown, who was also targeted, said "elected representatives should be able to work on behalf of their constituents without the fear of violence or intimidation".
He added: "These people are afraid of what Alliance stands for. Their attempt at intimidation will not succeed. My colleagues and I will continue our work to make Belfast a more open and prosperous city for everyone."
Dr Morrow's group went beyond the expectations of many commentators on sectarianism in Scotland, particularly downplaying the role of football.
He told the Scottish Parliament that while sectarianism had religious origins, it was not "the whole story". He said: "With some people there is a tendency to think this is limited to the 90 minutes' bigotry idea and working class people in the west of Scotland.
"It certainly is true that at football matches in the west of Scotland it takes on a very aggressive face, nobody is doubting that.
"On the other side, to limit it to that and to simply say that's all that it is and it comes from nowhere else, and it stops at that point, is for us not real and does not reflect reality."
The Alliance offices of East Belfast MP Naomi Long were targeted in July during a hoax bomb alert. Petrol and paint bombs were also thrown at the building.
At the height of attacks, the party office was blighted with a series of hoax bomb alerts. The offices of fellow party members were also attacked in the wake of the Belfast City Council decision in December 2012.
Earlier this year a married Alliance Party couple said they were leaving politics after their home was targeted by flag protesters.
Michael and Christine Bower's Bangor home was attacked with paint bombs in December 2012.
The outlawed loyalist Ulster Volunteer Force was widely blamed for much of the violence.
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