Prison officer shot dead in ambush

A long-serving prison officer was gunned down by dissident republicans in a motorway ambush in the North yesterday morning.

Married father-of-two David Black, 52, was shot several times from a car that pulled up alongside his on the M1 near Lurgan, Co Armagh, as he drove to work at Maghaberry Prison.

Colleagues have said Mr Black, from Cookstown, Co Tyrone, had been actively considering retirement after more than 30 years’ service.

British prime minister David Cameron joined political leaders on both sides of the border in condemning what he said was a “brutal murder”.

“These killers will not succeed in denying the people of Northern Ireland the peaceful, shared future they so desperately want.”

Stormont first minister Peter Robinson branded the culprits “flat-earth fanatics living in the dark ages, spewing out hatred from every pore”.

After he was shot, Mr Black’s Audi A4 veered off the road and crashed into a deep drainage ditch.

Police have blamed dissident republicans opposed to the peace process. The violent extremists have been engaged in a long-running protest campaign against conditions inside HMP Maghaberry in Co Antrim — the North’s only maximum security prison.

Deputy first minister Martin McGuinness insisted the murder would not destabilise the peace process.

“Our community stands absolutely four-square and united against the activities of these groups,” he said.

Mr Black is the 30th prison officer killed in the North since 1974, though the first for almost 20 years.

He was driving between Portadown and Lurgan at about 7.30am when a dark blue Toyota Camry, with a Dublin registration, pulled alongside and fired shots.

PSNI assistant chief constable Drew Harris said dissidents had been actively targeting prison officers. He indicated the gunshots, not the crash, had been the cause of death.

The car believed to have been used in the attack was later found burnt-out in the Inglewood area of Lurgan, — a town with strong pockets of dissident support.

Finlay Spratt, chairman of the Prison Officers’ Association said of Mr Black: “I found him to be a very nice fellow to work with. He always ensured he did his job to the letter. He was a very good officer, he certainly did his bit.”