Adams: ‘securocrats’ behind crisis
Speaking at a press conference in Dublin yesterday afternoon, Mr Adams said it was his
belief that rogue members of the security services, intent on opposing the peace process, planned to out Mr Donaldson for political purposes.
“They hate republicans with a passion and for them the war isn’t over. For them the Good Friday Agreement was a huge mistake. For them Tony Blair should have let them get at the Republicans. They are the people who continue to operate within the special branch of the PSNI. They are the people who orchestrated the raid in Stormont.
“Here you have a situation, against a background of British policy being informed entirely by securocrats and by the security community, and within that a core that won’t let go, and they are the people who are manipulating the situation.”
Mr Adams said Mr Donaldson had come to Sinn Féin after the PSNI warned him he was about to be ousted and his life was in danger.
Mr Adams said he had never suspected Mr Donaldson but had always been suspicious about the way the Stormont Assembly had been suspended.
“I was very, very suspicious when the events of 2002 unfolded, when we saw this hugely-orchestrated operation up at Stormont because we knew there was no Sinn Féin/IRA spy ring.
“I certainly instinctively knew that there was something wrong in the middle of it. More recently when this case collapsed, that suspicion was deepened.”
Mr Adams said Mr Donaldson would not have had access to top Sinn Féin files.
“He obviously had access to the Stormont Assembly team and the administration of that. He is a long-time member of Sinn Féin so he would have been on friendly terms with many people in Sinn Féin. He was not a member of our negotiating team. He’s not a member of our Ard Comhairle. He’s not involved in any of the senior leadership forums within the party but, yes, he was a long standing member.”
