Jonathan Powell, then chief of staff to British Prime Minister Tony Blair, told Irish officials he believed the “high-ranking man” involved in the £26.5 million Northern Bank robbery would be “smart enough to avoid arrest” weeks after the infamous raid.
The correspondence is outlined in new files dating from January 2005, released as part of the annual transfer of state documents from government departments to the National Archives of Ireland, which also show Mr Powell feared the DUP would “go on a rampage” when they were told who was suspected of being involved.
In December 2004, a gang widely believed to have involved the Provisional IRA took part in a raid on the Northern Bank in Donegal Square West in Belfast, making off with just over £26.5 million.
The heist was one of the largest in UK history, with its aftermath leading to the temporary reimposition of direct rule in Northern Ireland and serious concerns that the peace process could be derailed.
At a January 5, 2005 meeting at Downing Street between senior British and Irish officials a few weeks after the raid, records show Mr Blair’s chief of staff, Jonathan Powell, said London was “pretty sure it was the IRA”.
He said London believed the heist had been undertaken by people “very close to the Sinn Féin leadership”, a claim Sinn Féin rejected at the time, and that while the PSNI hoped to make arrests, Mr Powell said he “feared the ‘top man’ involved was not intelligent enough to avoid arrest”.
In response to the remarks, Irish Foreign Office official Michael Collins said Dublin “shared the deep anxiety over the bank robbery” and that it was “almost incomprehensible” that planning was taking place while Sinn Féin was involved in power-sharing talks with the DUP.
In the same filing, Mr Collins said that “on the Irish side the assessment was that the IRA remained a unified organisation; the Bank of the North was not a solitary enterprise”.
Meanwhile, related files (2025/120/37 and 2025/120/34) also show that during the same period, Ministry of Justice officials privately warned that there was “no evidence” that the Provisional IRA was “ending”.
This view was set out in a January 2005 general memo ahead of meetings with Sinn Féin, which stated that there was “no sign that the PIRA [is] by gradually reducing its capacities”, affirming on the contrary “that it continued to recruit, although in small numbers; collect information; and engage in relatively low-level training.”
They also said the Provisional IRA “continued to engage in significant smuggling activities”; continued “to commit shootings and paramilitary attacks, although in fewer numbers than before and without committing murder”; and “continued…to control Republican areas”.
He further stated that there was at the time “no evidence that the PIRA accepted that those it had exiled were free to return to Northern Ireland”, and that there was “no fundamental change in its capacity or in its maintenance of a state of preparedness”.
The filing goes on to reference a large number of violent and criminal incidents that occurred over the preceding months, including a murder and several alleged beatings in which young men – including one aged 19 – were shot in both ankles, both hands or had their jaws broken.
Tony Blair and Bertie Ahern were both in government at the time.
The same package also included a series of speaking points for the then taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, before his meeting with senior Sinn Féin figures.
These notes included references to the Northern Bank robbery and included a speaking note for Mr Ahern which said: “I wouldn’t be honest if I didn’t say that I feel disappointed and that the Government feels disappointed by what has happened over the last few weeks…
“I’m not going to go into detail about everything I know about the Northern Bank robbery. [The chief constable of the PSNI] Hugh Orde attributed the bank robbery to the PIRA and, based on the information available to me, I have no reason to dispute that assessment.
“The government does not believe for a moment the claims that Hugh Orde blames the PIRA for having a political agenda or being harassed by ‘securoucrats’. This simply makes no sense.
“I’m not going to go beyond what I’ve said publicly about people knowing about the theft at the time the talks were underway.”
A separate note in the same filing for Mr Ahern also said: “I am not trying to criminalize the IRA. The fact that the IRA continues to commit crimes is what criminalizes them.”
Other files (2025/125/161) released today, as part of state documents released to the National Archives of Ireland, include concerns raised by Irish officials in 2005 that UK plans to introduce national identity cards could discriminate against Irish citizens in Northern Ireland and the UK.
The plan, which was relaunched by British Prime Minister Kier Starmer, was officially aimed at addressing concerns about terrorism, illegal immigration, identity fraud and making public administration decisions easier.
However, they were never fully deployed, in part because of concerns from social justice groups about exactly how the information would be used.
The release of the files today includes further references to Northern Ireland, including the evident reluctance of US officials towards then US President Bill Clinton shaking hands with Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams at an all-party reception at Queen’s University Belfast in late 1995, with the handshake instead taking place on the Falls Road side (2025/115/827).
And they also include a previously unknown diplomatic incident after musician Christy Moore was locked in a room and interrogated for several hours while traveling by boat between Ireland and England (2025/127/1).
Meanwhile, the non-Irish files made public today include the somewhat panicked response to NASA’s decision to “ask” Ireland to designate Shannon Airport as an emergency landing zone for the Space Shuttle (2025/124/266) in early 1995.
Correspondence from the United States had informed Ireland that it was “requested” to allow the travel hub in the west of Ireland to become an emergency site, should the space shuttle abort its takeoff.
After learning that the shuttle “sometimes carried a payload” and would have less than 20 seconds to decide whether to target Shannon or Zaragoza in Spain in such an eventuality, officials naturally made plans for what actions to take.
Other filings today include claims by a genealogist in communication with the Irish government that repeated allegations visiting US President Bill Clinton had Irish roots were “a fantasy” (2025/166/11; 2025/124/3; 2025/124/5; 2025/124/391), and the belief that Princess Diana might try to “upstage” the visit of Prince Charles in Ireland with one of his own later this year. (2025/124/160).
[Main story based on document 2025/127/90]
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The meeting discussed the use of anti-terrorism laws to combat paramilitary flags and murals
#meeting #discussed #antiterrorism #laws #combat #paramilitary #flags #murals
A file held at the Public Record Office in Belfast includes the minutes of a meeting which took place at Stormont House.
A flag belonging to the Ulster Defense Association (UDA)(Image: Liam McBurney/PA Wire)
A meeting at Stormont discussed the use of anti-terrorism laws to combat displays of paramilitary flags and murals in 2004, according to declassified files.
The papers reveal that a senior PSNI official said “comprehensive case law” could be developed within the courts to establish a “clear line between what is acceptable and what is not”.
A file held at the Public Record Office in Belfast includes the minutes of a meeting which took place at Stormont House on March 2, 2004, attended by PSNI representatives, civil servants and representatives from the Community Relations Unit (CRU) and the Community Relations Council (CRC).
The minutes indicate that a previous meeting concluded that a “community approach to the flag issue was preferable to a police-only response.”
Senior officer Gary White told the meeting he had had a discussion with the Crown Prosecution Service regarding the use of the Terrorism Act 2000.
The minute read: “Again, the question of what is and is not acceptable behavior has become an issue, but GW (Gary White) believes that the DPP is in favor of using this provision generally and this is easiest where a flag or mural illustrates an explicit level of support for a paramilitary organization.
“Obviously there will be areas where there will be doubts about what a flag is.
“GW suggested that this issue should be left to the courts and that comprehensive case law could be developed to establish a clear line between what is acceptable and what is not.
“He also reminded the group that there is great sympathy for the idea that what was acceptable during the worst phases of the Troubles may not be acceptable now.”
The minutes indicate that the meeting recalls a test case relating to the display of paramilitary flags in Hollywood, which resulted in the conviction of four people under section 13 of the Terrorism Act.
It was subsequently learned that the CRU had commissioned research from the Institute of Irish Studies at Queen’s University into the issue of flags and emblems.
The CRU’s Billy Gamble said “his preference was for the community to resolve these issues on their own”, but he felt there “had to be a threat of final sanction”.
The minutes state: “The group was clearly impressed by the approaches of the CRU/CRC and expects the outcome of the policy document in June.
“It is clear, however, that there will be times when the community simply cannot stop the paramilitaries from engaging in this activity.
“In such circumstances, the PSNI is content to have the necessary powers under the Terrorism Act to deal with the situation. In short, there is no universal policy that can solve the flag problem.”
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Eddie Hearn pays tribute as two members of Anthony Joshua’s team die in car crash
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Anthony Joshua was involved in a car crash in Nigeria on Monday, leaving two people tragically killed in the incident and the former heavyweight champion was rushed to hospital.
12:47 a.m., December 30, 2025Updated at 00:47, December 30, 2025
(Image: Photo by Cameron Howard/Getty Images)
Eddie Hearn, chairman of Matchroom Sport, has paid tribute to two men who tragically died in a car crash involving British heavyweight Anthony Joshua in Nigeria on Monday.
The victims were identified as Kevin Ayodele and Sina Ghami, while Joshua was taken to hospital with minor injuries following the collision.
The incident occurred on Monday morning on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, just outside Lagos, when a black Lexus Jeep collided with a stationary red Sinotruck commercial vehicle.
The accident claimed the lives of Ayodele, also known as Latz, and Ghami, both close friends and members of Joshua’s team. Two other men in the vehicle were said to have escaped unhurt.
Hearn, chairman of Joshua’s promotional company Matchroom, was among those who paid tribute to both men when news of their tragic deaths was confirmed.
“With the heaviest of hearts,” he shared in an Instagram post. “Two great men. Rest in eternal peace Sina and Latz. My deepest thoughts and prayers are with everyone.”
Boxer Chris Eubank Jr also shared a heartfelt message, saying: “Thank God our heavyweight champion survived this horrific car accident. And pray for the two fallen soldiers, Latz and Sina, and their families.
“I knew they both…were truly good men. Rest in peace boys.”
Slim Albaher of Misfits Boxing also paid tribute, adding: “Sending prayers for Anthony Joshua and the two brothers who died tragically in the car crash. I can’t believe Latz was one of the guys involved… he was such a good soul and supportive brother. Allah Yerhamu, may Allah grant Latz and Sina Jannah.”
Another fighter, Mutah Beale, also said: “From Allah we return sad and shocking news regarding the death of our dear brother Abdul-Latif following a car accident. May Allah have mercy on him and grant him Jannah, and may Allah ease this difficult time for his family. We also wish the champion a speedy recovery. »
OnestoplistDubai shared a touching message: “May Allah forgive your faults and grant you the highest level of paradise. Ameen. Nothing but good memories when we were together.
“My condolences go out to your family and loved ones Sina @258mgt @anthonyjoshua. A gentle reminder to all brothers and sisters. From him we came and to him we will return. Now at peace, Sina.”
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President McAleese’s husband’s contacts with the UDA took ‘a life of its own’, ambassador heard
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Contacts between the husband of former Irish president Mary McAleese and UDA leaders in Northern Ireland took on “a life of their own”, a British government official said in 2003.
Declassified files show Martin McAleese had arranged a coach for loyalist leaders to attend a golf outing, but they refused, fearing it would be “too much like a UDA day trip”.
A senior civil servant noted that “there were a few surprises” in contacts but that Dr McAleese was determined to expand the list of his “loyalist friends” to include the UVF.
One of the files released under the 20-year regime concerns Dr. McAleese’s efforts to force loyalist paramilitaries from the margins of the peace process during his wife’s first term as president.
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The extent of his contacts is contained in a confidential memo written to the then British Ambassador to Ireland, Stewart Eldon, by senior civil servant Chris McCabe in September 2003, entitled “Loyalism and the Irish: Lunch with Martin McAleese”. Mr McCabe said he had a “private conversation” with Martin McAleese over lunch.
The memo said: “Martin McAleese is very candid about his contacts with high-ranking loyalists. Impressive in both their breadth and depth. Well aware of the potential pitfalls, but so far things have gone remarkably well.
“Determined to persevere for as long as possible, expanding the list of his loyalist ‘friends’ at every opportunity.”
Mr. McCabe added:
This allowed us to hear firsthand what Martin was doing: although we were already aware of much of what he told us, there were a few surprises.
The note stated that Dr McAleese had received a letter from “South Belfast UDA Brigadier” Jackie McDonald in February 2003.
“Once Martin verified that there would be no political objections to such a personal initiative, the first meeting was arranged. Since then, the meetings seem to have taken on a life of their own.”
The memo details a list of contacts, including a meeting in Áras an Uachtaráin “involving 50 unionists/loyalists who focused on cross-community issues”. It also included “several meetings with UDA brigadiers (including a “jovial” Jim Gray) and others in which Jackie McDonald was clearly primus inter pares”.
The note continues: “Social events, including golf outings, in which some or all UDA brigadiers and their associates were involved. On one of these occasions, Martin called for a coach, but the brigadiers refused him on grounds of collective security and because it would be too much like a UDA day trip.
“Alternative transportation in a fleet of minibuses was agreed; each vehicle was checked for ‘bugs and bombs’ before its guests boarded!”
The note said Dr McAleese had “admitted to being relatively innocent abroad”, but added that he was struck by “the sincerity of everyone he met and would tend to take them at face value until he knew otherwise”.
The note adds: “For our part, we welcomed his initiative and the progress that has been made. We said that, given the provenance of some of the figures involved and the need for transparency, accountability and inter- and intra-community equality, we could not hope to match his activities on this side of the border.
“But that shouldn’t bother him, quite the contrary.”
The memo was copied to Secretary of State Paul Murphy and other Northern Ireland ministers in direct power. The note concluded by stating that Dr McAleese also wanted to make contact with someone on the “military side” of the UVF.
It said: “To ensure the PUP/UVF stays on board, he would have dinner with the party’s chairman, David Rose, and secretary, Dawn Purvis, later this week.
“He hoped this would lead to direct contact with someone on the military side. He also has tentative plans for some sort of dialogue with members of the DUP.”
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