Bank raid looms large as Adams meets Ahern, Blair this week

The Sinn Féin president meets the Taoiseach and the British prime minister for talks this week for their first face-to-face discussions…

The Sinn Féin president meets the Taoiseach and the British prime minister for talks this week for their first face-to-face discussions since the PSNI Chief Constable Mr Hugh Orde said the IRA was responsible for the Northern Bank robbery.

Mr Gerry Adams will meet Mr Ahern tomorrow and Mr Tony Blair on Thursday.

The Taoiseach has accused the Sinn Féin leadership of being aware of the Northern Bank robbery plans, a charge angrily denied by Mr Adams.

With the Ulster Unionist leader, Mr David Trimble, publicly calling on the two premiers to get tough on republicans following Mr Hugh Orde's assessment, Mr Adams again insisted Mr Ahern's charges were wrong.

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The police investigation into the robbery is continuing, with some 1,200 active lines of inquiry. Sources have confirmed it could take months to get a result.

Reliable police sources have denied reports that arrests are imminent, despite the PSNI claims last week that evidence linking the robbery to suspects was now available.

One senior detective also denied there was any involvement of international crime figures in the theft.

Asked by The Irish Times about possible links with a criminal figure known as "Striker", who has been linked to the Balkans, the source said: "It's news to me. I wouldn't rule anything in or out, and if I knew the identities of all the individuals I might be in a better position to comment. But certainly there is no intelligence that I am aware of that directly links any foreign national to this offence." The 45-strong detective team is headed by Det Supt Andy Sproule who also investigated the IRA murder of Newry man Mr Frank Kerr, two months after it called its ceasefire in 1994. That killing was denied at the time by the IRA, but later admitted.

Sinn Féin leaders continue to insist there was no IRA involvement in the Northern Bank robbery last month and are preparing to take their case to Dublin, London and the US this week.

In addition to Mr Adams's meeting with the two premiers, Mr Gerry Kelly is to have talks with Congress members and officials at the State Department and other Irish American figures.

The party leadership remains angry at the Taoiseach's remarks in particular. "His accusation is completely without foundation. It is wrong. When the Taoiseach sits down with us this week he will have to explain his comments," Mr Adams said.

"When the effort to get a comprehensive agreement failed, Sinn Féin and the British government proceeded to explore how the governments could deliver on the commitment they made to us. This continued in the week leading up to Christmas.

"The Irish Government was less than enthusiastic. No one should be in any doubt of the depth of the difficulties in the process at that time," he added.

Mr David Trimble said yesterday he was "very, very sceptical" about the timing of Sinn Féin's talks with Mr Ahern and Mr Blair and called on both governments to go hard on Sinn Féin.

The Ulster Unionist leader said: "We will of course have our own contacts with the Taoiseach and the prime minister, and if they are not conveying the toughest possible message, not only privately but publicly, then I think they are making a huge mistake."