Adams distances Sinn Féin from robbery

SINN FÉIN president Gerry Adams yesterday sought to shift the focus of attention away from the Northern Bank robbery fallout in advance of the publication of the latest International Monitoring Commission’s (IMC) report this week.

Although Mr Adams again denied the December heist was the work of the IRA, the IMC report, which was received by both Governments last week, is expected to finger the IRA and propose some form of punishment against Sinn Féin.

Despite the IMC findings it is not expected that the Government will seek to impose sanctions against Sinn Féin.

Shrugging aside questions as to whether he thought the £26.5m robbery was a crime, Mr Adams was anxious to stress that Sinn Féin would no longer act as an interpreter for the IRA.

"Our willingness to do that in a positive way to provide a conduit has been used and abused," he said.

However Mr Adams tempered that statement by saying he would, if sensible suggestions are made, continue "to use whatever influence we have to try to bring this peace process to fruition."

Speaking on RTÉ's This Week programme, Mr Adams denied that Sinn Féin was shirking from accepting any responsibility for the current impasse following December's raid and last week's terse IRA withdrawal of its conditional offer to decommission all its weapons. "I never said that Sinn Féin have all the answers. But Sinn Féin will not be held accountable for the IRA.

"And Sinn Féin will especially not be held accountable for alleged activity by the IRA."

Although he accused the Irish Government of going off "in a huff", Mr Adams called on all sides to work on resolving the problems at hand in order to re-establish a viable peace process.

Asked whether the murder of Jean McConville was a crime something controversially denied by Sinn Féin chairman Mitchel McLaughlin Mr Adams again sought to shift focus.

"The focus is to make sure that nobody else is killed. The focus has to be about trying to make sure that all of the horrors that some of us have been lucky enough to survive are not visited on anyone else."

Mr Adams also called on Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and British Prime Minister Tony Blair to "take charge of the process."

Also yesterday the Archbishop of Armagh, Dr Sean Brady, said the Northern Bank robbery damaged the trust that had been built up throughout the process.