Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams has been warned by police that he is under threat from loyalist paramilitaries, a party spokesman said today.
A Sinn Féin spokesman said: "Gerry Adams' house has been visited this afternoon. He wasn't there, but (people there) were informed his details were found on a list and a warning about his safety was given."
Alex Maskey of Sinn Féin
Dozens of other republicans - included the former Belfast deputy mayor, Joe O'Donnell of Sinn Féin - have also been warned their lives are in danger after British army files containing their details fell into the hands of loyalist paramilitaries.
More than 50 republicans in east Belfast were warned by police that they were under threat from loyalist paramilitaries.
The move followed the recovery of a document believed to have been stolen during a break-in at army offices in the city's Castlereagh, the complex from where senior elements of police Special Branch and military intelligence operates, last summer.
It was reported last July that 28 RIR soldiers were removed from duties at Castlereagh following the breach.
There was speculation then that the document, reportedly containing details about 400 republicans and loyalists, was under the control of the UDA.
Sinn Féin confirmed officers visited the homes of people in the Short Strand area whose names and dates of birth were on the document.
Sinn Féin's South Belfast MLA Alex Maskey said the scale of the warnings was unprecedented in recent years.
"This development is clearly of concern to the people involved directly, their families and the wider community in the Short Strand," Mr Maskey said.
"It has been well over a decade since such a large number of republicans were visited in an operation like this in the city.
"The people visited were told that their date of birth were part of the documentation indicating that the source of the information is some official or statutory body.
"There is now an onus on local unionist political leaders and unionist community leaders to speak out against these threats and let the small nationalist and republican community in East Belfast know where they stand on this issue."
A PSNI spokesman said: "As part of an ongoing proactive investigation police have recovered what they believe to be a document linked to the breach of internal security in army offices at the Castlereagh complex in July 2004.
"As a result police are warning a number of people about their personal security."