Republicans point blame at loyalists for raid

REPUBLICANS connected to the IRA have blamed disaffected members of the British security forces and loyalist paramilitaries for the Belfast bank raid.

An Phoblacht, the news service with an inside track on the thinking of the IRA, claimed the robbers had access to precise information on the bank's security. It also reported the gang "confidently operated with local knowledge of the County Down countryside in an area associated with unionist paramilitaries".

The report further said: "The raiders will experience considerable difficulty in capitalising on their success. The haul largely consists of cash in the North's peculiar local currency - although legal tender, is not accepted in Britain and can even be difficult to spend in the North."