NI prison officer funeral

Gardai have arrested a 29-year-old man in Co Leitrim this evening in connection with the murder of 52-year-old David Black in Co Armagh yesterday morning.

The man is detained in Carrick-On-Shannon Garda Station under Section 30 Offences Against the State Act 1939."

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A third man was arrested tonight by police investigation the murder of a prison officer in Northern Ireland.

The suspect, 29, was detained in the Irish Republic by police.

Earlier, two other men including prominent dissident republican Colin Duffy were arrested in connection with David Black's murder

Mr Black, 52, was gunned down during a high speed ambush yesterday on a motorway as he drove to work at Maghaberry high security prison.

His killing has prompted condemnation from across Britain and Ireland and police have blamed it on dissident republicans.

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The Police Service of Northern Ireland has welcomed independent charity Crimestoppers' offer of a £10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the murder of prison officer David Black.

Detectives are conducting an extensive investigation into David Black's murder.

A key element of this investigation will be information which is provided by members of our community.

If the reward encourages some individuals to come forward, this will be of benefit to all our efforts as we work to secure convictions against Mr Black's killers."

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Independent charity Crimestoppers is offering a reward of up to £10,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the murder of a prison officer in Northern Ireland.

David Black was gunned down on his way to work in a motorway ambush yesterday.

This heinous crime has sent shockwaves through communities across Northern Ireland and left a family without their father.

I am urging anyone with information about this crime, no matter how small that information may be, to contact Crimestoppers anonymously - we don't want to know who you are, only what you know.

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Northern Ireland's First Minister Peter Robinson has branded the dissident republican who murdered David Black as the enemies of everyone across the island of Ireland.

He said:

When someone strikes at the Prison Service in Northern Ireland, that's our Prison Service, that's part of our community, they are attacking us as part of that community and the community must give a community response to that.

Mr Robinson's comments came after ministers from the Northern Ireland Executive and the Irish Republic's government discussed Mr Black's murder at a North South Ministerial Council meeting.

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Detective Superintendent Keith Agnew, from the Police Service of Northern Ireland, who is leading the investigation into the murder of prison officer David Black has given the following update:

Firstly, I want to express the sympathy of the entire Major Investigation Team I am leading to David Black’s family. We will do our very best to ensure his killers are brought before the courts.

I welcome the universal condemnation there has been from right across our community in response to David’s murder. I am sure it is of comfort to his family at this difficult time.

But condemnation, however strident, is not enough. My team of detectives need condemnation to be translated into information if our investigation is to make maximum progress.

Two men, aged 31 and 44, were arrested in the early hours of this morning in Lurgan. But there is a long way to go in this investigation and we need the community’s assistance in relation to the movements of David Black’s Audi A4 and the killers’ dark blue Toyota Camry car.

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Ministers from the Northern Ireland Executive and the Irish Republic's government discussed the murder of prison officer David Black today at a North South Ministerial Council meeting in Armagh.

Speaking after the meeting, Irish prime minister Taoiseach Enda Kenny said:

Yvonne Black has lost a husband, her children Kyle and Kyra have lost a father and Northern Ireland has lost a good hard-working son.

We condemn this murder unreservedly.

We do not want to see a return to this, nobody on this island wants to see a return to this.

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Northern Ireland's deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness has said supporters of dissident republicans need to "get real" and realise they are a "ragbag" of criminals out for their own ends.

Speaking after the murder of prison officer David Black yesterday, Mr McGuiness said they swim "in a sea of criminality and drugs" while wrapping themselves in a flag of political convenience.

"People need to get real. They need to recognise the danger that a tiny number of people can represent to human beings and they need to recognise that the world has changed, that over the course of the last 15 years we have built something, all of us together, which we can be very proud of."

Earlier, the Sinn Fein veteran and First Minister Peter Robinson stood shoulder to shoulder with Irish prime minister Taoiseach Enda Kenny and his deputy Tßnaiste Eamon Gilmore after a meeting in Armagh as they jointly denounced the killing.

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Asked about the motive behind the attack of prison officer David Black, Northern Ireland Secretary Theresa Villiers told the House of Commons:

It is too early to be able to say with any certainty exactly why David Black was targeted. But as (police) made clear yesterday, this attack does have all the hallmarks of dissident republicanism.

It is also too early to say whether there is any connection with the prison dispute that is currently taking place in Northern Ireland. Whatever the dispute about prison conditions, nothing could possibly justify what has taken place.

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Sue McAllister, director-general of the Prison Service in Northern Ireland, met David Black's grieving widow, Yvonne, at her home in Cookstown, Co Tyrone, today.

The family is completely shattered. They are very close. It is a dreadful tragedy and we will make every effort to support them in whatever way we can.

Mrs Black was meanwhile praised in the House of Commons for her response to her husband's brutal murder.

The Democratic Unionist Party's Westminster leader Nigel Dodds paid tribute to her "brave and courageous words" in calling for no retaliation.

Northern Ireland Secretary Theresa Villiers said Mrs Black's stance was "courageous and entirely right".

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