Hardtop removal

I need to remove the headliner. Actually, I need to remove the debris left behind by the previous tenants who lived above the headliner. Can (should) I remove the roof only and leave the sides of my Series III 88 in place, or remove the whole thing, roof and sides together? It looks like the sides need to be separated from the roof to provide access to remove the headliner.

From what I remember of my Series 3, the interior headliner had to come out to get at the fixings to take the roof off.