Prison officers will decide tomorrow whether to take fresh industrial action in jails across Northern Ireland, it has emerged.
Mr Finlay Spratt, the chairman of the North's Prison Officers' Association, said he would consult with members after he described fresh talks with Northern Ireland Security Minister Jane Kennedy as "a complete waste of time".
Mr Spratt was joined by members of the union's national executive as they called for increased security measures at the homes of prison officers across the North.
Their homes have come under sustained attack from loyalist paramilitaries for months, as part of a campaign to achieve segregation between loyalists and republicans within prisons.
However, despite segregation being granted after a series of violent clashes in the top-security Maghaberry Prison and a dissident republican "dirty protest", the attacks have continued.
An overtime ban and the threat of a complete one-day stoppage by prison officers were suspended earlier this week to allow talks to take place with management.
But Mr Spratt accused Ms Kennedy of using the meeting as a means of stalling industrial action. "Nothing constructive came out of it [the meeting], the minister offered nothing new.
"All the minister said was that she was willing to review individual cases. But there are 600 prison officers out there with insufficient security measures.
"This was simply a stalling tactic and my members will be furious when they find out what went on in there today," Mr Spratt said.
PA