Northern Ireland Office

“We completely reject any allegation that the police operation in October 2002 was for any reason other than to prevent paramilitary intelligence gathering.

"The fact remains that a huge number of stolen documents were recovered by the police.

"As a result of the recovery of these documents, a large number of people had to be warned.

"We are not going to comment on the specifics of the case or these allegations.

"In terms of the dropping of the prosecution, that was a matter for the independent prosecuting authorities and there was no political interference whatsoever in that decision.”