Loyalist disturbances at the Maze Prison and the release of two IRA prisoners in the Republic have increased tensions in the North over prison conditions and early releases. The protest by Loyalist Volunteer Force prisoners in the Maze Prison ended late last night. The Prison Service said in a statement that the 27 protesting prisoners had been transferred from two wings of H-Block 6 to other accommodation in the top security jail.
Damage to the wings where the protests took place was said to be extensive. Mr Finlay Spratt, chairman of the Prison Officers Association said: "Prison officers moved in this evening and moved the prisoners from H6 to H2 with the minimum force necessary to do the job. I do believe there was quite an amount of opposition from the prisoners, the staff are to be congratulated for the professionalism they have shown."
Visits to LVF inmates have been suspended for today but other paramilitary groups will not be affected.
Trouble flared at the Maze yesterday when Loyalist Volunteer Force inmates held a rooftop protest and later took over H-Block 6, which also houses INLA prisoners. They barricaded themselves in and started fires in the block's four wings.
The Northern Ireland Office said 19 prison officers had been sent home after inhaling smoke.
The release of the IRA prisoners from Portlaoise Prison yesterday prompted further calls for the early release of prisoners in Northern Ireland. The Northern Secretary, Dr Mo Mowlam, said she was not considering any early releases at present but indicated there could be concessions if the IRA ceasefire held.
About 10 of the LVF's 27 prisoners in H-Block 6 began the rooftop protest yesterday morning. The inmates eventually left the roof, but trouble escalated as the LVF prisoners, who are under the command of the dissident loyalist, Billy Wright, started burning furniture and bedding and erecting barricades.
The LVF took over the block. Last night prison officers and fire engines and ambulances remained on standby outside H-Block 6 as efforts continued to resolve the crisis. Wright, in a phone call to the Belfast Telegraph, said poor visiting and lack of educational and recreational facilities had prompted the action.
He said LVF prisoners were forced to have visits from their families in the old hospital of the Maze. He said the building had no proper toilet or creche facilities and was unsuitable for visits.
Prison sources accepted visiting arrangements were unsatisfactory but said work was under way to remedy the situation by next month. One source said there were visiting difficulties because some prison officers would not accept shift arrangements to ease the problem.
Mr Finlay Spratt of the Prison Officers' Association denied his officers were at fault. He said the LVF inmates had legitimate grounds for complaint. The problem was "under-resourcing" at the Maze.
The prison authorities said 17 INLA prisoners housed in the other two wings of the block were removed for their safety. Mr Willie Gallagher of the Irish Republican Socialist Party, the INLA's political wing, said loyalist prisoners had attacked INLA inmates. One inmate was slightly injured, he added.
Mr Gallagher said tension was already high in the block. "This violence is not about conditions. Rather it is a direct attempt by the LVF to take control of the entire H-Block 6," he added.
The tension also relates to the refusal of other loyalist inmates to mix with the LVF prisoners. The IRSP said there was a free H-Block at the Maze to which the LVF prisoners should be relocated.