A 'quite exceptional' case: Justice minister says that Prison Service opposed on-the-run murderer's funeral release but court overruled it - and gardai now enlisted to help in hunt for Gary Anderson

The revelation was made by the justice minister Naomi Long this afternoon in the Assembly after police revealed the previous night that Gary Anderson had vanished while out on temporary release from Maghaberry.

The News Letter can also reveal that the PSNI has now enlisted An Garda Siochana to help try and find him.

This follows the infamous case of James Meehan, another murder convict who fled while on temporary release and fled to the Republic in December 2024.

It took one year to bring Meehan back to Northern Ireland, whereupon he was sentenced to six months in jail for absconding.

Anderson is aged 29, and was sent to jail in 2023 (alongside his brother Sean) for the fatal stabbing of father of five Karol Kelly in a Londonderry street in 2018.

Sean Anderson was sentenced to 17 years, and Gary Anderson to 15.

The Prison Service describes the missing Gary Anderson as roughly 5ft 9ins tall (1.79m), and of stocky build.

The PSNI say he is 5ft 11ins, and of slim build.

According to the Prison Service he has brown eyes and hair, as well as a scar on his right hand and a tattoo of a smiley face on his left ankle.

The PSNI has warned the public not to approach him.

He was out on compassionate temporary release (CTR) to attend the funeral of his father in Creggan, Londonderry.

The chapel where the funeral was held is less than two miles from the Irish border and after the funeral his father was being cremated in Co Donegal; no-one has been able to confirm if Anderson was permitted to cross the border for this part of the ceremony or not.

The issue was raised in the Assembly today by DUP MLA Trevor Clarke, a member of the Policing Board, who said that the PSNI appeal on Monday had been “very vague”. He demanded more details.

Mrs Long said the Prison Service had refused Anderson’s CTR application following his father’s death, “however, following an urgent judicial review, the court directed that a short period of release should be granted”.

"Gary Anderson was subsequently released yesterday [Monday] morning, but absconded from his chaperone – this was a chaperone approved by the court and not a prison officer,” she said, adding that he was not cuffed to the chaperone.

She added that the absconding “was not due to an abuse or failure of the Northern Ireland Prison Service CTR scheme”, and as such it would not be “necessary or proportionate” to subject the whole scheme to a review.

When the prison service grants someone compassionate release, they “would normally be accompanied by prison officers”, she said.

It is “quite exceptional” for the court to set the conditions.

Independent unionist MLA Doug Beattie, who has been critical of past high-profile absconding cases, said “it's a sad indictment of our courts that they have overruled our prison service and put public safety in jeopardy”.

The PSNI told the News Letter: “Gary Anderson was last seen in the Eastway area of Creggan in Derry/Londonderry, and we can also confirm we are liaising with An Garda Siochana.”

The Department of Justice said in a statement: “Going unlawfully at large is a breach of prison rules and prisoners can be charged under these and referred to the PSNI and PPS to face additional charges when they are returned to custody.

"The Prison Service would strongly urge Gary Anderson to hand himself into police, and for anyone with information on his whereabouts to contact the appropriate authorities.

“All sentenced prisoners may apply to the Prison Service for Compassionate Temporary Release, primarily when an immediate family member has died or has a critical illness.

"This was the case with Gary Anderson.

"Applications are subject to a robust risk assessment which will consider the public safety risk posed by the prisoner together with their likelihood of absconding or reoffending.”

Tonight, the Lady Chief Justice’s office, representing the judiciary, told the News Letter: “On Sunday, September 13 2026, the court heard an application for leave to challenge the decisions of the governors of Maghaberry and Magilligan prisons to refuse to release Gary and Sean Anderson (respectively) on compassionate temporary release (CTR) to attend their father’s funeral.

"The application was brought on the grounds that the decisions breached the ECHR rights of the applicants.

"The court found that the decision by the governor in respect of Sean Anderson was carried out lawfully and refused the application for leave to challenge the decision.

"In the case of Gary Anderson, the court held that the governor’s decision not to grant CTR was not substantiated by the evidence which was provided to the court.

"It granted the application for leave to challenge the governor’s decision and issued an order of mandamus requiring the release of Gary Anderson on CTR with conditions attached.

"This was an individual judicial decision, and it is not appropriate for this office to make any further comment.”