Flash: Adams denies SF role after arrests

Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams repeated his denials today of any
involvement by his party in the Northern Bank robbery after a
number of arrests were made by Garda police in the 26 Counties.

Large sums of money were reported to have been seized in raids
in Counties Cork and Dublin. Seven arrests were made on
Wednesday night and Thursday morning.

"We are not bank robbers," Adams said during a visit to the
Basque region of Spain, where he was promoting the Spanish
edition of his autobiography.

"The robbery of the bank is a setback we shall overcome. There
are always difficulties in a peace process," said Adams.

Early reports claimed republicans were among seven arrested, but
this information could not be confirmed.

Speaking in Spain, Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams said people
should not be in a rush to blame republicans.

"I would urge people to be very measured," he said, adding that
it was not the time "for making knee jerk judgements or trying
to beat up on Sinn Fein".

Garda Commissioner Noel Conroy told a press briefing today that
"the IRA" was behind a money laundering operation. He said at
least one dissident republican was among those arrested, as well
as another man "involved in Sinn Fein".

In a statement, a Sinn Fein spokesperson said the party's
position on the robbery was clear.

"Over the last four weeks we have seen people rush to judgement
time and time again. We would urge people to exercise caution on
this occasion and allow the truth to come out.

"Sinn Fein has no further information about these arrests and we
will wait to see how events unfold before we comment further."