Prison search for gun ‘used by loyalists in attack’

PRISON staff searched a top security Northern Ireland jail for a gun yesterday amid fears that loyalist inmates have smuggled a weapon inside.

All visits to the Bann House section of Maghaberry Prison near Lisburn, Co Antrim, were suspended as warders searched the cells.

Dissident republicans claimed a firearm was pulled during a brutal attack on two men by a gang of loyalists held in the same wing. Seven men were involved in the beating, which left one of the victims with head gashes. As tensions inside the jail deepened, police were also called in to investigate the assault.