Sinn Fein lobbies British government

Sinn Fein has revealed that it has lobbied the British government to stop the North’s police from arresting republicans in connection with the Castlereagh break-in.

The party’s national chairman, Mitchel McLaughlin, insisted that there is no evidence of republican involvement in the raid, during which sensitive intelligence files were stolen.

He said the arrests were designed to provoke republicans.

"People are very, very angry and tensions are high because of the brutality of these arrests," he said.

"We are talking about police sledge-hammering into homes even when the householder is standing there. People are smashing their way into homes, giving those inside no time to get dressed, never mind destroy documents. What have they come up with? Nothing."