Speaking this evening, DUP MEP Jim Allister said, “At the opening Adjournment debate in Strasbourg today, Sinn Fein’s Bairbre de Brun was left exposed and red-faced in a pincer movement by the two unionist Members.

Jim Nicholson rightly drew attention to the IRA's robbery of the Northern Bank.  De Brun then spoke and as usual wasted half her speech in Irish before appealing for the Parliament's inevitable approval of the PEACE funding extension later in the week.

I then spoke and included in my remarks the following:-

"Members will have noted that the IRA's representative in this House, Ms de Brun, had no condemnation to offer in respect of her associates' robbery of the Northern Bank.  In light of her Party's links to that robbery, she indulged in shameless hypocrisy in appealing for funding from the EU. If Ms de Brun wants to talk about funding let her start with her Party's £26 million of ill-gotten gains from the Northern Bank."

It was gratifying to note that my remarks were met with support from various quarters of the House indicating that Sinn Fein is feeling the draught of civilised opinion”.