A woman arrested in connection with allegations of IRA intelligence-gathering was freed on bail today after a court was told that a laptop computer found at her home bore no trace of her fingerprints.

A former government messenger was today due in court after being charged by detectives probing a suspected IRA spy operation in the Northern Ireland Office.

A top Sinn Fein official at the Stormont Assembly has been held on remand after being charged with having documents likely to be of use to terrorists including the personal details of the British Army chief in Northern Ireland.