Documents stolen from Castlereagh contained no names

Documents stolen during a security breach at Belfast's main police headquarters did not include the names of security force informers, the PSNI Chief Constable has said.

A Special Branch officer was assaulted and documents taken when three men in suits, who it is said were not masked, entered an office inside the base at Castlereagh, in the east of the city, on Sunday.

The possibility of internal involvement, is not being ruled out according to media reports and will form a major part of the investigations.

A clearly flustered Sir Ronnie Flanagan was asked about the breach as he went into a meeting of the Northern Ireland Policing Board on Wednesday morning.

He said: “Clearly I am not going to comment on the exact nature of these documents.

“There has been a lot of misrepresented reporting on this, there are no papers on ongoing investigations. There are no names of any informants.”

While the Chief Constable said he is referring the matter to the Police Ombudsman, a police spokesman added: “This does not indicate that a judgement has been made or that there is any evidence to suggest the commission of a criminal or disciplinary offence by nay police officer.”

The PSNI are conducting an internal investigation into the crime and Det Chief Supt Phil Wright, who already heads up the Criminal Investigation Unit for the Greater Belfast area, will lead this.

Meanwhile, the Secretary of State John Reid has ordered an independent review of the break-in and has appointed former Northern Ireland Office permanent secretary Sir John Chilcot is to spearhead the investigation.

Speaking on the matter in the House of Commons on Wednesday, Dr Reid said: “Any breach of national security is a matter of serious concern.

“As the person with the ultimate responsibility for national security in Northern Ireland, I am absolutely determined to establish where the truth lies.”

The Policing Board has also held a meeting with the Chief Constable. Chairman Desmond Rea said the members of the board wanted to “satisfy themselves that effective mechanisms would be put in place to ensure such a raid never happens again.”

(AMcE)