IT IS easy to draw parallels between the Great Train Robbery and the extraordinary heist at the Northern Bank in Belfast City Centre. Each was planned with huge attention to detail and carried out with astonishing impunity. Each robbery shocked Britain both with its daring and by the sheer amount of money stolen. Back in 1963, the 20 or so robbers implemented an ingenious plan that involved rigging signals to stop the night mail train outside London. The scheme worked, and the gang made off with a staggering £2.3m in used bank notes - the equivalent of about £40m today. The Ulster raid, again believed to be the work of a large team of criminals, netted an estimated £27m. The sum is so large that it may defy usual money-laundering techniques and may be the downfall of the gang. The train robbers, immortalised by film and by their own diverse characters, acquired public popularity. They were seen as lovable rogues; chancers who beat the system and good luck to them. Men like Buster Edwards, Bruce Reynolds and Ronnie Biggs passed into folklore. In fact, they deserved nothing but disdain. They were criminals to the core and brutal thugs to boot. Never forget what happened to train driver Jack Mills. He was coshed on the head and collapsed, bleeding. He never worked again and died seven years later. Remember the facts too, when assessing the daring and audacity of the Northern Bank robbers. They forced managers to open vaults at gunpoint after taking their families hostage. They have struck previously and again, their methods revolved around terror, with threats of murder and torture. Like the Train robbers of 41 years ago, they are to be despised not admired. Keep talking GOOD luck to Tony Blair in his efforts to unravel the complexities and hatreds of the Middle East. A solution to the Israeli-Palestinian stand-off has defied generations of politicians. But, as in Northern Ireland, seemingly insoluble problems can clarify and reduce through patient negotiation. As long as the talking continues, hope remains. | 
