Raid costing Sinn Fein £120,000

Secretary of State Paul Murphy is to fine Sinn Fein

The Northern Bank raid will cost Sinn Fein a £120,000 fine, Secretary of State Paul Murphy has confirmed.

A report from the IMC last month blamed the IRA for the £26m Belfast bank robbery in December.

It means the removal of the party's block Assembly grant after an attempt to abduct a dissident republican last year will be renewed from 29 April.

On Thursday MPs will debate a motion to remove Sinn Fein's Westminster allowances, estimated to be £400,000.

Sinn Fein MLA Mitchel McLaughlin said Mr Murphy had "no right to discriminate against democratically elected Irish politicians".

"He has no mandate here in Ireland. The people of Ireland elect us and we are accountable to them," he said.

A report by the Independent Monitoring Commission - which monitors paramilitary activity - recommended imposing financial penalties on Sinn Fein in January.

It backed the police assertion the IRA was behind the £26.5m raid at the Belfast headquarters of Northern Bank on 20 December - a claim the IRA denies.

Outlining his plan to fine the party last month, Mr Murphy told the House of Commons he agreed that there were links between Sinn Fein and the IRA.