LONDON, March 10 (Xinhuanet) -- British lawmakers loyal to Sinn Fein, the Irish Republican Army (IRA)'s political wing, were Thursday stripped of around 400,000 pounds in parliamentary allowances following claims of huge bank heist in Northern Irelandlast December.

    The motion to suspend allowances for Sinn Fein's four members of Britain's parliament for 12 months was passed without a vote, said a BBC report.

    However, a cross-party motion to permanently evict the Sinn Fein lawmakers from their offices in British parliament was defeated by 358 to 170.

    Sinn Fein lawmakers have never taken their seats at the House of Commons because doing so would involve swearing an oath of loyalty to the Queen.

    The Independent Monitoring Commission, which monitors paramilitary activity, issued a report in February, recommending imposing financial penalties on Sinn Fein.

    The commission backed the police assertion the IRA was behind the raid of 26.5 million pounds in cash at the Belfast headquarters of Northern Bank on 20 December - a claim the IRA denies.

    The British government has already confirmed a further 12-monthextension on a ban on Sinn Fein's 120,000-pound Northern Ireland assembly grant for earlier IRA crime.

    This sanction is to come into effect on 29 April, the day afteran existing sanction expires. Enditem