Prison probe MPs: 'Ministers bowed to terrorist pressure'

The British government bowed under terrorist pressure by sanctioning a dangerous scheme of separating loyalist and republican prisoners at a Northern Ireland jail, a new report claimed today.

Fears of hunger strikers putting even greater strain on the fragile peace process led the authorities to go against security assessments of the situation inside Maghaberry Prison, British MPs found.

The scathing Northern Ireland Affairs Committee report also attacked blocks on attempts to question top Downing Street officials on their role in the decision.

Members have now demanded no further concessions amid concerns that the parts of the high security jail, near Lisburn, Co Antrim, will come under the control of paramilitaries.

The £14m (€20.6m) transformation of the prison was agreed to last September after protests by prisoners claiming the regime was unsafe.

Dissident republicans smeared excrement on their cell walls while loyalist bombers on the outside also attacked warders’ homes during the stand off.

The crisis inside the prison came as the political process in Belfast was plunged into political turmoil in Belfast following the collapse of the Stormont power-sharing Executive.

With the terrorists threatening mayhem, the committee accepted the possibility of making concessions at the time was understandable.

But it described the decision as “profoundly depressing”.

The all-party report said: “We believe that the separation of paramilitary prisoners at HMP Maghaberry was demanded by dissidents for political reasons and acceded to by the government for (other) political reasons.

“We accept that the prevailing political conditions in Northern Ireland in the summer of 2003 placed the government in an extremely difficult position.

“Nonetheless we have to record our belief that the decision taken, as we see it, contrary to the balance of the facts and arguments presented to us, was a dangerous one, most especially for the public servants who will have to implement it and live with its consequences.”

Although separation was recommended by a review team headed by former Northern Ireland Prison Service chief John Steele amid safety fears, the committee suggested other motives came into play.

British Security Minister Jane Kennedy told how prison service staff told her the current regime was safe and the protests could be contained in spite of heightened tensions, the report found.

Instead, a developing public perception of a regime under threat and attempts by political parties and religious leaders to pressurise the British government was causing difficulties.

With the Good Friday Agreement in jeopardy, the committee conceded the authorities may have been faced with taking steps to prevent a further breakdown in relations between unionists and nationalists.

Alongside dirty protests in Maghaberry’s cells, and rooftop protests, concerns arose that the spectre of hunger strikes was also looming.

Mainstream republicans made huge political gains in the wake of the 1981 IRA fasts inside the now defunct Maze prison, which led to the death of 10 men, and the report claimed nationalist pro-Agreement parties may have felt bound to support any new action by dissidents.

The MPs’ report said: “While the minister, Jane Kennedy, did not assent to the proposition that a potential hunger strike was a factor in the review process, it seems to us to be the most plausible explanation for a decision which appears to be unsupported by the weight of the evidence presented.”

Yet the report also admits to some uncertainty over why exactly it was decided to bow to terrorist demands.

Committee members wanted to quiz senior advisers to Mr Blair about any role they played, but were denied the opportunity to call them to give evidence.

These figures are thought to include the British Prime Minister’s chief of staff Jonathan Powell, who has played a key role in Northern Ireland peace process negotiations since Labour came to power in the UK in 1997.

“Our examination of the full reasons which may have led to separation was, to some extent, hindered by current limitations on select committees’ ability to question staff of No 10 Downing Street,” the report said.

“Following evidence from the Minister that staff of No 10, whom we are not able to question, had been in discussion with the Northern Ireland Office during the period of the protests, our concerns were expressed about this gap in accountability to the Prime Minister at a meeting of the Liaison Committee on February 3.

“We feel it is important to establish the full facts of such decisions and this can only be done by questioning the officials concerned at No 10.”

Tony Blair could not remember what role Downing Street played in the separation discussions, but accepted ordinary policy considerations are sometimes overruled on Northern Ireland matters.

The report added: “We welcome this sympathetic response from the Prime Minister, and his commitment to reassess the policy on the appearance of his staff, in exceptional circumstances, before committees such as ours.”

Work on two of the six wings at Maghaberry which will be used to house the opposed factions in a separate, highly-controlled regime is due to be finished by the end of the month.

The committee warned the policy, which it claimed was adopted rapidly, cannot be turned back.

“The government must hold the line within the prison and ensure that no concessions are ever made to the separated prisoners which might undermine or diminish the control exercised by prison officers.”