The Real IRA have threatened British bankers saying that they have become legitimate targets.

The threats came in an interview with the London Guardian. A spokesman told the newspaper that.

"We have a track record of attacking high-profile economic targets and financial institutions such as the City of London. The role of bankers and the institutions they serve in financing Britain's colonial and capitalist system has not gone unnoticed.

"Let's not forget that the bankers are the next-door neighbours of the politicians. Most people can see the picture: the bankers grease the politicians' palms, the politicians bail out the bankers with public funds, the bankers pay themselves fat bonuses and loan the money back to the public with interest. It's essentially a crime spree that benefits a social elite at the expense of many millions of victims."

The Provisional IRA carried out bombing campaigns in the heart of London’s financial district but the Real IRA has shown no such capacity.

Experts say the statement is an attempt to give the dissident IRA group some credibiity in English working class circles where there is huge anger aimed at the banks for causing the financial meltdown last year.