British politicians and senior officials have been warned to increase their personal security because of a potential attack by the Irish Republican Army, the Irish Times newspaper reported yesterday. It said senior British Labour and Conservative members of parliament, ministers with sensitive portfolios, senior police, judges and military personnel were believed to be amongst those alerted to a potential risk.

The warnings of potential IRA attack were issued after the existing threat level in Britain was reassessed and upgraded in the wake of the current security and political "turbulence", according to a British government spokesman quoted in the newspaper.

The risk level was raised following the December 20 robbery of £26.5 million from the Northern Bank in Belfast that has been blamed on the Catholic IRA by the authorities on both sides of the Irish border.

Other factors are the Belfast murder of Robert McCartney, whose family claim was carried out by IRA members who then intimidated witnesses, and the extensive IRA money laundering investigation by police in the Republic.

The British spokesman stressed to the newspaper that the security upgrade did not mean the IRA was expected to break its ceasefire.

"This is just a precaution that reflects the level of uncertainty following recent events."

Britain announced yesterday it plans to transfer authority for gathering anti-terrorist intelligence in Northern Ireland from the police to MI5, Britain's domestic spying agency.

The British governor, Northern Ireland Secretary Paul Murphy, noted that MI5 has exercised primary power for gathering intelligence on potential terrorist threats in the rest of the United Kingdom since 1992.

He said bringing Northern Ireland "into line with the rest of the UK" would "provide for a consistent and co-ordinated response to international terrorism".

The change, tentatively scheduled to be completed in 2007, follows a decade-long peace process in Northern Ireland that has resulted in substantial changes to the British territory's predominantly Protestant police force, and in particular, to its secretive intelligence-gathering arm, Special Branch.

In Dublin, Irish justice ministry officials are to meet a senior Bulgarian delegation in a bid to unravel suspected IRA money laundering in the east European country.

One of a series of IRA money laundering raids by Irish police last week resulted in the seizure of £2.3m from a house near Cork city in the south of the country. A financier who was questioned under anti-terrorist laws following the raid had recently visited Sofia.

PHOTO CAPTION

Sinn Fein leaders Gerry Adams (L), Martin McGuinness (R). (AFP)