Tony Blair and Theresa May will not attend Martin McGuinness's funeral amid a huge security clampdown - but former US President Bill Clinton will be there.

Northern Ireland Secretary James Brokenshire will represent the UK Government at the funeral Mass tomorrow at 2pm.

Irish broadcasters RTE reported former Prime Minister Tony Blair would attend last night. However sources close to Mr Blair now say this is not the case.

There will be a huge security operation with so many dignitaries in Northern Ireland and amid heightened tensions after a bomb attack on police by dissident republicans in nearby Strabane last night.

It came as Martin McGuinness revealed he 'didn't care' how history judged him in his final interview and maintained he was 'proud' of his life in the IRA because 'it was the right thing to do'.

The terrorist turned peacemaker, nicknamed the 'Butcher of Bogside' because of his years as a ruthless republican commander, also said he hoped people would judge him 'fairly' when he died.

Final interview: A frail Martin McGuinness revealed he 'didn't care' how history judged him in his final interview in January and maintained he was 'proud' of his life in the IRA

Tensions: Unionist graffiti in Belfast this morning on the day after the former IRA chief's death

Friends: Bill Clinton will be in Londonderry for the Mr McGuinness' funeral (pictured together in 2010)

Tony Blair walks inside 10 Downing Street with Sinn Fein Chief Negotiator Martin McGuinness in 2005. Mr Blair will not attend the funeral

Upset: Mourners leave after paying their respects at Martin McGuinness' home in Londonderry today

Tributes: Sinn Fein leader Michelle O'Neill signs the book of condolence for Martin McGuinness at Stormont

The interview came in the days after he quit politics in mid-January and he was defiant about his dark past before he died in Londonderry on Monday night.

He said: 'I don't really care how history assesses me. Historians, many of them come from different political perspectives, will do that and I leave it to them and to the judgement of people. But I'm very proud of where I've come from.'

Police 'incredible lucky' to be alive after bombing Police officers in Northern Ireland have been targeted in an explosive attack. A device exploded near a police patrol in Strabane, Co Tyrone on Tuesday night, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said. The finger of suspicion will again point to dissident republicans opposed to the peace process. The murder bid happened on the same day Northern Ireland's former deputy first minister and ex-IRA commander Martin McGuinness died. PSNI superintendent Gordon McCalmont said it was 'incredibly lucky' no one was killed. 'At this time our assessment is that a device exploded while police were on patrol in the area of Townsend Street shortly after 8.30pm. 'The investigation is at an early stage and we have had to ask some residents to leave their homes while we carry out our inquiries. 'While we are unable to go into specifics of the incident at this stage, I am confident in saying that we are incredibly lucky that the lives of officers and other members of the community were not lost last night. 'We appreciate the understanding and patience of local residents while we carry out our inquiries and would appeal for anyone with information about suspicious activity in the area to contact us.' Advertisement

It came as police officers in Northern Ireland were targeted in a bomb attack in Strabane Co Tyrone last night with experts claiming it 'cannot be a coincidence' that the likely dissident republican attack happened on the day McGuinness died.

And when asked about joining the IRA and becoming one of its leaders he said: 'I'm not ashamed of that, I think it was the right thing to do.

'Obviously we found ourselves in a situation in Derry in the early 1970s were the British army and the RUC were on our streets murdering our citizens.

'I was among a group of young people supported by many thousands of people in the city, who were prepared to stand against them.

'But equally I'm as proud of the role I've played over, I suppose, nearly 25 years in developing a peace process that has changed all of that.'

McGuinness looked frail in the interview with Irish broadcaster RTE but said he hoped he would recover and perhaps return to politics.

He added: 'But, of course, the best laid plans of mice and men come into all of that and, unfortunately, I have taken seriously ill and I have been battling what is a serious medical condition for the last number of months.'

After the interview he disappeared from public life and died on Monday night from a rare genetic condition that caused his organs to fail.

Hundreds of mourners gathered in Northern Ireland last night to pay tribute to the former deputy first minister in a series of candlelit vigils following his death from a rare genetic condition.

Huge crowds of all ages came together at the barracks in Andersontown, west Belfast, carrying candles and black flags as they sang the republican ballad 'I wish I was back home in Derry'.

Addressing the vigil, priest Gary Donegan hailed Mr McGuinness's contribution to the peace process, and said: 'Martin was a hero in life and a hero in death.'

They gathered in front of a old political poster for Sinn Fein featuring an image of McGuinness, with many in the crowd using their mobile phones to capture the solemn occasion forever.

It came after McGuinness' Irish flag-covered coffin was carried through the streets of Londonderry yesterday with Gerry Adams and his widow Bernie acting as pallbearers.

McGuinness was brought to 'Free Derry Corner' in his home city followed by hundreds of mourners.

But families of those killed in IRA terror attacks said they fear the truth about their murders will be 'buried with him' because dozens known as 'The Disappeared' were abducted, executed and then dumped in unmarked shallow graves across Ireland during The Troubles, possibly at his behest.

His wife Bernie McGuinness and their four children Grainne, Fionnuala, Fiachra and Emmet all helped carry the IRA kingpin's coffin with the help of Adams and new Sinn Fein Leader Michelle O'Neill.

Final picture: A frail Martin McGuinness was photographed for the last time on January 25 in Belfast, before succumbing to a rare genetic disease overnight

Others brought pictures of the 66-year-old along as they said farewell to one of the men who helped broker the Good Friday Agreement

Final journey: Pallbearers including Gerry Adams (back), former hunger striker and IRA volunteer Raymond McCartney (centre) and new Sinn Fein Leader Michelle O'Neill (front) carry McGuinness' Irish-flag covered coffin through the streets of Londonderry yesterday

Mourners: Hundreds of the former first minister's supporters followed the coffin through the streets, including his sons Fiachra and Emmet McGuinness (pictured centre)

The procession through Londonderry took the crowd past a number of murals, including this one depicting a scene of the 'Battle of the Bogside' riot in 1969

Respect: Many held candles, left, and looked tearful, right, as they paid their respects to the former IRA chief, who died on Monday night due to a rare genetic condition

Family: McGuinness is survived by his wife Bernie (together centre) and four children, including sons Fiachra (left) and Emmett (right) pictured in Dublin in 2011

Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams leaves the home of former Sinn Fein leader Martin McGuinness after paying his respects to the McGuinness family in Londonderry

Free Derry Corner: The Irish flag and the Derry flags fly at half-mast after the death of McGuinness, in the Bogside area of Londonderry

Gerry Adams: I rushed to hospital to see him but it was too late Gerry Adams with Martin McGuinness' brother Declan while visiting his late friend's bogside home Gerry Adams revealed he rushed from Belfast to Londonderry but Martin McGuinness had died before he arrived. McGuinness' wife Bernie had sent a text to the Sinn Fein President telling him that he had taken a 'turn for the worse'. But he did not make it to Altnagelvin Hospital in time. Yesterday he visited Mr McGuinness' family at his Bogside home and spent an hour with his relatives before helping carry his coffin. Adams also revealed he had a signed Derry GAA shirt from 1993 when they won their first and only All-Ireland Final. He told his comrade that he would give him the gift when 'he got better' but presented it to him last week when it became clear he wasn't going to survive. In a short but emotional statement, Mr Adams revealed he last spoke to Mr McGuinness last week before he travelled to the US to pass on best wishes from people and update him on powersharing talks in Belfast. 'Martin, as we all know, was a very passionate Irish republican. He believed in our people - that people of this island should be free. He believed in reconciliation. He worked very, very hard at all of that,' Mr Adams said. 'We are very, very sad that we lost him overnight.' Advertisement

It came as the Queen sent her condolences to the widow as families killed in the republican group's terror attacks said he should be remembered as a 'vile terrorist' not a peacemaker.

An emotional Mr Adams, who is President of Sinn Fein, said his long-time friend was a passionate republican who worked passionately for reconciliation in Ireland.

'We are very, very sad that we lost him overnight,' he said.

Crowds braved snow and sleet in McGuinness's native Derry to accompany his coffin from the funeral parlour to his home.

Another tricolour flag flew at half-mast near the Bogside's landmark Free Derry Corner.

McGuinness was considered Britain's number one terrorist accused of ordering some of the IRA's most devastating attacks across Ulster and on mainland UK.

In an extraordinary journey he became a politician and deputy first minister credited with securing the 1998 Good Friday Agreement to end decades of fighting in Northern Ireland with the help of his sworn enemy turned friend Rev Ian Paisley.

The Queen shared an historic handshake with him in 2012 even though he was believed to have helped order the murder of her cousin Lord Mountbatten in 1979.

She sent a personal message of condolence to his widow Bernie, Buckingham Palace said.

But Lord Tebbit, whose wife Margaret was paralysed by the IRA's 1984 bombing of the Grand Hotel in Brighton, said the 'world is a sweeter place' after his death calling him a 'multi-murderer coward who never atoned for his crimes' and only turned to peace 'to save his own skin'.

He said: 'I hope he'll be parked in a particularly hot and unpleasant corner of hell for the rest of eternity.

'My thoughts are with the many many hundreds of people murdered by McGuinness and his friends during the Troubles'.

New relationship: In a historic moment McGuinness shakes hands with the Queen during a visit to Belfast in 2012 - over 30 years after the IRA murdered her cousin Lord Mountbatten in 1979 - yesterday Her Majesty sent her condolences

Public enemy: McGuinness became a respected politician and peacemaker but was once described as 'Britain's number one terrorist' and was second-in-command of the Provisional IRA in Londonderry on Bloody Sunday (right in 1972)

History: IRA Commander Martin McGuinness holding a handgun in 1972 at a time when he was at the very top of the terror organisation

Julie Hambleton, whose sister Maxine died in the Birmingham pub bombings in 1974, said: 'With his death the truth is buried. People are piling the praise on him but it isn't valid. He didn't come forward with the truth.'

Rare condition that killed Martin McGuinness linked to his mother's home town Martin McGuinness died of an extremely rare genetic illness linked to his mother Peggy's home town of Buncrana, County Donegal. Amyloidosis causes abnormal deposits of protein to form throughout the body and causes the organs, including the heart, to fail. It causes weight loss, fatigue, dizziness, erectile dysfunction and in some cases death. In Ireland a hereditary case was found in Donegal in 1986 and since then there have been a number of other cases. Experts say that around one in a 100 people may possess the mutation that could develop into the illness. It is a group of rare but serious conditions caused by deposits of abnormal protein, called amyloid, in tissues and organs throughout the body. Proteins begin as a string of amino acids that fold themselves into a three-dimensional shape. This 'protein folding' allows them to perform useful functions within our cells. Amyloid is a description of proteins which have folded abnormally and then collected together. In this form they do not break down as easily as normal proteins and can build up in tissues and organs. If this build-up causes the tissues or organs to stop working properly, the resulting conditions are called amyloidosis. Without treatment to address the underlying cause, the amyloid deposits can eventually lead to organ failure and death – sometimes within only a year or two. Advertisement

Her brother Brian Hambleton said his death 'cleans the earth of another vile terrorist'.

John Eaglesham, whose father - a postman and part-time soldier - was shot dead by the IRA in 1978, said: 'People say about what he has done for the peace process - they seem to forget that for a very, very long time he wasn't part of the solution he was part of the problem, in fact he was the main part of the problem.'

Margaret Veitch, whose parents William and Agnes Mullan were murdered in the 1987 Enniskillen blast, said she would not gloat over his death.

'But I certainly won't be sending any sympathy card because I got no sympathy card from them (the IRA),' she added.

'I am so sorry for all the innocent victims of Northern Ireland because we will never, never get the true story.

'Martin McGuinness chose to be a terrorist, he chose to go into government, he chose to take the bomb and bullet.

'My parents never had a choice - they died and we will never get justice.'

The former deputy first minister looked frail as he quit politics in January while battling rare genetic disease amyloidosis and died in hospital in Londonderry on Monday surrounded by his family.

His friend Mr Adams called him a 'hero' and a 'faithful soul' after visiting McGuinness' family at his Bogside home.

UK Prime Minister Theresa May said: 'While I can never condone the path he took in the earlier part of his life he played a defining role in leading the Republican movement away from violence'.

Tony Blair also paid tribute and his spin doctor Alastair Campbell called McGuinness a 'great guy'.

The former first minister was also accused of knowing the secrets of Northern Ireland's so-called 'Disappeared' - citizens who were abducted, murdered and secretly buried by republicans.

Mr McGuinness always denied being the IRA's chief of staff at the height of the Troubles but once said: 'I regard it as a compliment'.

Stephen Gault saw his father Samuel, 49, killed by an IRA bomb in Enniskillen in November 1987. The then 18-year-old was also injured in the blast.

He said: 'Martin McGuinness has taken to the grave the truth and the answers that we need to be able to move forward. He knows who bombed Enniskillen.

'I will always remember Martin McGuinness as the terrorist he was. If he had been repentant my thoughts might have been slightly different. But he took to his grave proud that he served in the IRA. There was no remorse or repentance from him even up to his death.

'People might say I am unchristian that I have no sympathy for his family. But it wasn't Christian to send people out to murder innocent people.

Despite brushing off concerns about how history would record his journey from conflict to peace, the former Northern Ireland Deputy First Minister said: 'I suppose what anyone would be concerned about is that you would be judged fairly.'

'I took a firm decision way last year well in advance of becoming ill that come the 10th anniversary of going into government with Ian Paisley, on the 8th of May, that that would be an appropriate time for me to stand aside and make way for a new deputy first minister and that was always my intention.

'I'm proud we have been through the celebrations, the commemorations of the 100th anniversary of the 1916 Rising.

'My heroes were those people and those in every generation since who have tried and struggled hard to bring about the reunification of this country.

'Obviously we found ourselves in a situation in Derry in the early 1970s were the British army and the RUC were on our streets murdering our citizens.