Police have declined to comment on a report that a group calling themselves ‘the IRA’ has claimed responsibility for the murder of prison officer David Black.
The group, thought to have formed from a merger of three republican groups earlier this year, said it carried out the killing as a direct response to tensions in Maghaberry prison where 41 dissident prisoners are currently involved in a no-wash dirty protest.
The PSNI told the News Letter they could not confirm if they had seen the statement, published in the Irish News, as the investigation into David Black’s murder is ongoing.
The 52-year-old father-of-two was shot dead as he drove along the M1 motorway to work at the prison on November 1.
He was the first prison officer to be murdered in almost 20 years and had completed 30 years service.