Orde ‘must say if IRA behind raid’
Mr Orde, who has kept silent on the Belfast robbery, will be quizzed by Sir Desmond Rea’s Policing Board at a special session later this month.
Members of the authority, astonished that the January 20 meeting was not called sooner, have pledged to grill the police chief and senior commanders about how the investigation has been handled.
As well as criticising police intelligence, the board will want a definitive answer to one burning question: Did the IRA mastermind last month’s operation when two families were held hostage by an armed gang that looted the city centre bank’s vaults?
Even though the Provisionals have denied any involvement, Democratic Unionist representative Sammy Wilson demanded an unambiguous assessment, regardless of its impact on the Northern Ireland peace process.
He said: “There must be no holding back by the Chief Constable for fear of the political consequences.
“If the IRA were involved then the public has a right to know and it is up to politicians to then decide what the political consequences for IRA/Sinn Féin are.”
Mr Orde will be accompanied by his Assistant Chief Constable in charge of crime operations, Sam Kinkaid, at the meeting in Belfast.
Both men will be challenged to explain how police were not alerted to such a well-planned robbery.
Details of a warning to police by a traffic warden who spotted suspicious activity around the bank on the night of the raid will also be examined, according to Mr Wilson.
The DUP Assembly Member said he was staggered at the length of time the board had taken to set up a meeting.
“If this was any other police authority, the Chief Constable would have been brought before them the day after,” he claimed.
“Most people will find it difficult to understand how we have to wait a month after the biggest bank raid of the century to hear from the Chief Constable.
“It’s absolutely scandalous.”
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