Terrorists’ claim - Deluded criminals

It is more than difficult to understand the mindset of those who yesterday said they were responsible for the murder of prison officer David Black in Armagh.

Describing themselves as the IRA these criminally deluded people linked the killing to a dispute over prison conditions. The reality is that these issues have been decided, through the ballot box, by a great majority of the people living on this island. No one has anything approaching a mandate to use violence to achieve political aims.

The relative peace of recent years shows that real progress has been made and that this latest manifestation of violent nationalism must be confronted with all the resources at the Government’s disposal.