18/02/2003

SF anger as probe into police raid denied

Sinn Fein has expressed its anger over the Secretary of State's decision to refuse MLAs access to the investigation into the PSNI's raid on Sinn Fein's Stormont offices.

Sinn Féin assembly group leader Conor Murphy voiced his frustration and accused Paul Murphy of "suppressing" an assembly inquiry.

The Newry and Armagh assembly member said: "The PSNI raid of Sinn Féin's offices in the assembly was part of an elaborately choreographed performance for the media. It was a heavy-handed attack on the democratic institutions by the PSNI.

"There is no excuse for hiding this report and Paul Murphy should come clean and allow full access to this Assembly investigation."

As a result of the raids, the head of Sinn Fein's administration at Stormont, Denis Donaldson, was arrested by the PSNI on October 4. He was charged, along with two others, in relation to an alleged republican spy ring operating within the devolved government and the NIO.

The planned raids, dubbed 'Operation Torsion', had enormous political repercussions and led to the suspension of the Stormont executive on October 14. The Chief Constable Hugh Orde later apologised for the way in which the raids on Sinn Fein's offices had been carried out.

The Sinn Fein assembly member said that there were a number of key questions which still had to be answered over the police operation.

(GMcG)

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