Man charged with murder of prison officer killed by van bomb

A 45-year-old man has been charged with the murder of a prison officer in the North.

Christopher Alphonsos Robinson had previously been charged with attempting to murder Adrian Ismay in a dissident republican bomb attack in Belfast earlier this month.

The charge was changed to murder in the wake of the 52-year-old's death on Tuesday.

The long-serving prison officer, a father of three, suffered a heart attack, and a post- mortem examination confirmed the cardiac failure was linked to the injuries he suffered when a device exploded underneath his van in east Belfast on March 4.

Robinson, from Aspen Park in Dunmurry, west Belfast, was remanded in custody last Saturday after appearing before a district judge charged with attempted murder.

He is due at the same court later on Friday to face the murder charge.

Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) Detective Chief Inspector Richard Campbell said: "Following liaison with the Public Prosecution Service, the 45-year-old male previously charged with attempted murder in relation to the death of prison officer Adrian Ismay has now been charged with murder and will appear before Belfast Magistrates' Court later this morning."

A dissident republican group calling itself the New IRA, which opposes the peace process, claimed to have carried out the bombing.

Police have warned there could be more attacks ahead of this month's centenary of the Easter Rising.