Police warned Northern Ireland’s deputy first minister of Continuity IRA assassination plot which followed his decision to meet the Queen in 2012

Dissident republican terrorists planned to use a rocket launcher to kill Northern Ireland’s deputy first minister, Martin McGuinness, it has been revealed.

McGuinness said he has been warned of the Continuity IRA (CIRA) plot by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI).

In a statement released on Monday, McGuinness said: “I have been made aware the PSNI has discovered a plan to launch a rocket attack against me. The PSNI has said that a group calling itself CIRA considered an attack against me using a rocket launcher.”

A decision by McGuinness to meet the Queen in 2012 caused outrage among hardline dissident republicans opposed to the peace process in Northern Ireland. He has since met the monarch on three occasions, including as a guest at a Windsor Castle banquet last year.

“I will not be silenced or deterred,” said the Sinn Féin MLA. “These people are only interested in plunging us back into the past. If those behind this threat think they have the ability to destroy the peace agreements which have been endorsed by the overwhelming majority of the people of Ireland then they are clearly detached from reality.

“They need to wise up, listen to the people of Ireland and abandon these futile actions. This threat will not stop me or anyone in Sinn Féin from our work in representing everyone in our society and continuing to pursue our political objectives.”

The CIRA was formed in 1986-87. While the IRA declared a ceasefire in 1994 and moved towards decommissioning of arms, the CIRA’s aim remained to kill members of the security forces in pursuit of its goal of a united Ireland.

Earlier this year 12 suspected CIRA members were arrested during a police raid at a house which had been under surveillance by MI5. A number of suspects have since appeared in court charged with a range of terror offences linked to the operation at Ardcarn Park, Newry in County Down.

• This article was amended on 10 February 2015. The original incorrectly stated that the CIRA split from the IRA in 1994. The group was actually formed in 1986-7.