Unionists have expressed anger at the announcement that the Maze prison in Co Antrim is to close by 2000 if the Belfast Agreement is fully implemented over the next two years. It is expected that the remaining 200 paramilitary prisoners eligible for release under the terms of the Belfast Agreement will have been freed by then.
The announcement was made by the director general of the North's prison service, Mr Robin Halward.
The UK Unionist leader, Mr Bob McCartney, said it showed the British government had no intention of halting prisoner releases even if there was no movement on decommissioning by the Provisional IRA.
"The rule of law has been sacrificed to political expediency," he said. "This shows that whatever happens, the release of prisoners will continue - whatever Sinn Fein/IRA do. This just strengthens the hand of Adams and McGuinness."
Mr Ian Paisley Jnr, of the DUP, said Northern Ireland needed a maximum security prison, as the "terrorist threat" still existed. However, if the Maze was to be closed, it should be demolished "and not allowed to become a monument to those who were housed there".
However, Mr Gerry Kelly, a Sinn Fein Assembly member and a former Maze escaper, welcomed the announcement, saying the Maze was "a monument to the integrity and courage" of republican prisoners.
"The historical importance of Long Kesh and the H-blocks over the years should be recognised by the preservation of at least part of the site, including the hospital where 10 republicans died on hunger-strike," he said.
Meanwhile, there has been a mixed reaction to the publication yesterday of a report by the British government's chief inspector of prisons, Sir David Ramsbotham, into the Maze.
The report followed several security lapses, including the murder of Loyalist Volunteer Force leader Billy Wright, IRA escape attempts and loyalist riots.
It found that the prison was unsafe for both staff and inmates, with prisoners virtually running their wings. They regularly had sex during visits and received cash gifts from visitors. It also found they routinely claimed compensation for damage to their property. The claims were paid without investigation.
Responding to the Ramsbotham report, the North's Security Minister, Mr Adam Ingram, said it was time to end the controversy over the Maze and move forward. However, Billy Wright's father, David, said he was "disgusted" by Mr Ingram's reaction.
"This whole business is not in the past. My son was killed and nobody in the Prison Service has been held accountable for how it happened. I am not prepared to let this drop. I will pursue it until I find the truth," he said.
The Prison Officers' Association spokesman, Mr Finlay Spratt, said the report vindicated the position of staff at the Maze. "For years we have been telling the public exactly what is happening in the jail. Secretaries of state and prison ministers have gone on the media and basically said we were not telling the truth. This report shows we were."
The DUP called for the resignation of Mr Ingram, saying the report showed the Maze was out of control, with inmates enjoying a "hotel lifestyle".
Mr Paisley Jnr said: "This report is highly damaging to the government. If Mr Ingram had any conscience at all he would resign at once and take responsibility for a report that exposes the failures by this government since 1997 to deal with serious breaches in security since it became responsible for prison management.
"The report proves prisoners have it easy in the Maze. It exposes their leisurely lifestyle and how food would be delivered to prisoners by staff on demand and a choice of newspapers made available for them to enjoy over breakfast. They are even supplied with designer clothes." However, Sinn Fein described the Ramsbotham report as biased against the prisoners. "It ignores the reality that the H-blocks have held a community of political prisoners," Mr Kelly said.