A number of Northern Ireland police informers have been warned their lives could be in danger after the theft of confidential documents from a Special Branch terrorist unit in Castlereagh.
The warning came as Secretary of State Dr John Reid ordered an external investigation into the theft of the documents which are understood to contain anti-terrorist-related intelligence.
Earlier, police confirmed that "some documentation" was missing following the raid on the offices on Saturday night.
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Three men, one with an English accent, broke into offices in Belfast and stole a bundle of notebooks, in one of the most devastating breaches ever to hit the force.
The external inquiry is to run in tandem with a criminal investigation launched yesterday by the outgoing Chief Constable Sir Ronnie Flanagan.
The Northern secretary confirmed that a "distinguished" figure would be drafted in from Britain to head up the investigation.
Every Special Branch and military intelligence officer who had access to the Castlereagh complex in east Belfast are expected to be questioned in a bid to retrieve documents containing information which could jeopardise the undercover fight against republican and loyalist paramilitaries.
Detectives heading up the police inquiry believe the intruders who rifled drawers and filing cabinets for up to 20 minutes in search of the classified material included at least one man with inside knowledge.
The Northern Ireland Secretary is to appoint somebody with an intelligence background to carry out an independent review of security procedures, which could well extend beyond Castlereagh, and at the same time assess the scale of damage to covert operations.
Dr Reid said: "It is essential that we establish the facts surrounding this serious incident as quickly as possible and ensure, in the national interest, that all necessary remedial action has been taken."
In a separate move Mr Flanagan referred the matter to the Police Ombudsman who, he said, would keep in close contact with the senior officer investigating the matter - Detective Chief Superintendent Phil Wright, who is in charge of Criminal Investigation in the greater Belfast area.
Sir Ronnie welcomed an announcement by Northern Ireland Secretary John Reid of an independent review into the incident.
Republicans today called for an outside police force to be brought in to investigate the break-in.
Sinn Féin chief whip Alex Maskey said he firmly believed the robbery was carried out by elements within the security services.
"Here we have the Special Branch offices being raided in the heart of Castlereagh Barracks, the most secure barracks in western Europe.
"There will be very little confidence within the public that an internal investigation will resolve this matter because I don't think anyone believes an outside force was involved in this alleged raid.
"I don't think those people who are in charge of this very sensitive information within the Special Branch office are capable of investigating this incident," he added.
SDLP MLA Mr Alban Maginness claimed security services must have been involved. He said: "This is very sinister stuff and given the strange circumstances it seems to me that some secret element was responsible".
Belfast Lord Mayor Mr Jim Rodgers believes the gang knew the station's layout. "The whole thing stinks to high heaven," he said.
Mr Sammy Wilson, a Democratic Unionist member of the Northern Ireland Policing Board, said: "This is absolutely amazing and extremely embarrassing".
PA