Prison officers in Northern Ireland are under a new threat from loyalist terrorists, it was claimed today.
Amid fears that pipe bombs were left in a village close to Antrim's Maghaberry jail, police warned the authorities that warders could be targeted by paramilitaries.
Mr Finlay Spratt, chairman of the Prisoner Officers Association, said he was told last night of a threat by the Ulster Defence Association against staff. He said: "[the]UDA has said prison officers' homes will be attacked."
The warning came as two security operations were mounted in Maghaberry village close to the jail housing some of Northern Ireland's most notorious inmates.
Suspicious objects were found under the car of a prison officer's daughter and at a nearby pub. Both were later declared to be hoaxes.
But the latest threat has intensified tensions at the jail, where loyalist and republican inmates staged separate protests in a bid to be segregated.
Even though the British government has decided to keep the factions apart, after prisoners linked to the "Real IRA" smeared the cell walls with excrement, Mr Spratt insisted the measures would not halt the danger to his members.
He said: "We have always said it doesn't matter what measures were brought in, the attacks will not stop because these people's agenda won't stop. They will not be satisfied until they achieve segregation on a level of the old Maze Prison. "
PA