Government hit SF with economic sanctions

Sinn Fein is to be hit with economic sanctions following an IMC report which claimed senior members of the party involved in authorising the £26.5 million Northern Bank raid, along with other robberies.

Secretary of State Paul Murphy announced the decision to financial penalise the party in the House of Commons on Tuesday. It will see a one year extension to existing sanctions which deprive Sinn Fein of £400,000 per year in expenses.

Speaking today, Mr Murphy said: “Earlier this month, on 10 February, I laid before the House a copy of a report presented to the British and Irish Governments by the Independent Monitoring Commission.

“That report, which the Commission had elected to produce in addition to its normal twice-yearly reports to the two Governments, concluded that the Northern Bank robbery was planned and undertaken by the Provisional IRA and that this organisation was also responsible for three other major robberies during the course of 2004.

“The IMC concluded, on the basis of its own careful scrutiny, that Sinn Fein must bear its share of the responsibility for these incidents. They indicated that, had the Northern Ireland Assembly been sitting, they would have recommended that the full range of measures referred to in the relevant legislation be applied to Sinn Fein, including the exclusion of its members from holding Ministerial office. In the context of suspension, they recommended that I should consider exercising the powers I have to apply financial penalties to Sinn Fein.”

However, Sinn Fein immediately hit out at the decision. Former Lord Mayor of Belfast Alex Maskey said the Government had “no right to discriminate against democratically elected Irish politicians”.

“The IMC upon whose report this action is based is not independent. It has no credibility,” Mr Maskey said.

“We will continue to fight this discrimination politically, legally and through an ongoing campaign of democratic resistance. We will go to the nationalist and republican people in elections in May.”

The Independent Monitoring Commission - which monitors paramilitary activity – has backed the PSNI assertionthat the IRA was behind the raid at the Belfast headquarters of the bank on 20 December - a claim the IRA denies and which is supported by Sinn Fein.

(MB)