There should be no underestimation of the serious implications for the political and security authorities in Northern Ireland of the murder of LVF leader Mr Billy Wright. And neither the notoriety of the victim nor what some might consider to be the inevitability of his demise should be allowed to deflect concern over a grave lapse of security at the Maze prison.
A sequence of retaliatory attacks is to be feared. Mr Wright's killing was swiftly followed by the murder of a former Republican prisoner, Mr Seamus Dillon, along with the wounding of two other men and a teenage boy at Dungannon. Responsibility has been claimed by Mr Wright's organisation, the Loyalist Volunteer Force. Other attacks may follow and the security forces must be presumed to be on extra alert in vulnerable areas.
Mr Wright's organisation does not subscribe to the Loyalist ceasefire and the recent murder of a member of the GAA has been attributed to it. Neither has the INLA, which murdered Mr Wright, agreed to be bound by the ceasefires. Nonetheless, by striking within the Maze prison, the INLA has broken one of the cardinal rules - albeit unwritten - of the Troubles; prisoners in jail have seldom been targeted and have generally been allowed to serve out their time quietly. Even allowing for that understanding it is clear that the prison authorities have been caught in a serious breakdown of security. Weapons were secreted within the prison. But no less ominously the murderers were able to make their way from one compound to another. They were also able to learn very precisely when Mr Wright would be in transit for his visit.
The authorities now face the possibility of a round of retaliatory violence. But perhaps more seriously they also face difficult questions on the regime to be followed at the Maze. The Northern Secretary, Dr Mowlam, and her Ministers have applied successive "confidence building " measures at the prison as part of the peace process. The regime has been relaxed in many respects and with such relaxation, inevitably, there comes the risk of breaches of prison rules. Even as Mr Gerry Adams went to visit 10 Downing Street there was an escape. Now, as officials and Ministers of the two Governments consider prisoner transfers and possible releases, a high-profile prisoner is assassinated in prison grounds by members of a rival faction.
There have been calls for the resignation of the Secretary of State and of the Chief Constable of the RUC, Mr Ronnie Flanagan. It may be taken that these are ritual at a difficult time like this. Dr Mowlam knows that the course upon which she is embarked carries the risk of periodic reverse while Mr Flanagan is obliged to frame security activity within a political context determined by Mr Blair and his Government. But the murder of Mr Wright within the supposedly secure confines of the North's maximum security prison presents a challenge which cannot be ignored. If the Government - any government - loses control of the prisons it has lost everything. There must be no more escapes and there must be no more murders at the Maze.
With the loyalist fringe parties already protesting at the policies of both governments towards republicans, the murder of Mr Wright adds to the weight of problems bearing down upon the peace process. Notwithstanding the fact that he and his organisation had parted from other loyalist groupings, his death is widely seen in the community as an attack on loyalism per se. For those who are directing the talks at Stormont, the balancing act becomes that much more difficult as a result of Mr Wright's murder. But for all the squalls it has so far encountered, the process has shown a remarkable buoyancy. It may have to adjust to the wind but it is unlikely to be sunk by these latest atrocities.