19th March 2002

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Inquiry Demanded Into Office Raid

Sinn Fein Chief Whip Alex Maskey has called for 'an outside investigation, including an independent element' into the alleged raid on a Special Branch office in Castlereagh. Mr Maskey also said that the 'Ombudsmans Office must also carry out a thorough investigation'

The Sinn Fein Chief Whip said:

"Castlereagh has been the centre of Special Branch operations in the Six Counties for thirty years. It is from Castlereagh that the shoot to kill operations, the collusion with loyalists and the torture of people was directed. It is probably the most secure barracks in Western Europe.

" Few believe that the offices at the very centre of this fortress were raided, files removed and the people involved were not seen and no one knows how or why this happened. This could not have happened without the sanction of senior figures within the Special Branch or British Intelligence. "

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