Sinn Féin can’t have it both ways

DESPITE the hard-hitting allegations contained in the report of the North’s Independent Monitoring Commission, which squarely lays the blame for a string of recent robberies at the door of the IRA and Sinn Féin, the lack of concrete evidence to support this contention remains the weak link in the argument.

Not only does the report point the finger of blame at Provisional IRA for the £26.5 million (38m) Northern Bank robbery, as well as three other raids, it claims they were carried out with the full sanction of senior members of Sinn Féin. While the individuals are not identified in the document, the commission calls for financial penalties on Sinn Féin.

While the dogs on the street could list the likely candidates, they have yet to be identified as such. It is high-time the commission and the Irish and British Governments named names.