UUP delegation meets with Prison Officers' Association

A senior delegation from the Ulster Unionist Party has met with the Prison Officers' Association to discuss the ongoing dispute between the Association and the Government.

At the request of the Association, Lagan Valley MP Jeffrey Donaldson, East Londonderry MLA David McClarty and South Belfast MLA Esmond Birnie met with prison officers' representatives.

The meeting was requested after Prison officers twice failed to turn up for work in protest at the way in which the government has handled an IRA spy-ring controversy in which a laptop was seized during raids by the PSNI in north and west Belfast, as well as Sinn Fein offices in Stormont.

Information found on the laptop included the names of staff serving in Magilligan, Maghaberry and the Maze as of autumn 2001. Some retired officers names were also on the list.

Speaking after the meeting Jeffrey Donaldson said: "It is time now for the Northern Ireland Office to end the quibbling over the level of protection given to prison officers and their families.

"This serious breach of security resulted from the failure of the NIO's own security systems and therefore the Secretary of State and the Director General of the Northern Ireland Prison Service have a responsibility to all prison staff, in providing them with adequate security measures and protection."

UUP Deputy Chief Whip in the Assembly, David McClarty added: "This is the latest in a number of meetings the UUP have had with prison staff because we recognise the seriousness of the situation. We will continue to put pressure on the Secretary of State to address the real concerns and issues that were raised in the meeting. It is about time the Government started to realise the importance of this problem."

Of the 1,426 staff on the list, some 900 have so far been informed that they are on it.

Prison officers have expressed their anger over what they describe as a lack of urgency being displayed by police and government in protecting prison staff.

All those who have been notified of the threat, will obtain of a risk assessment and will automatically qualify for the Key Persons Protection Scheme under which grants of up to £25,000 can be handed out to applicants.

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