On the run prisoner scandal: 'Catastrophic failures' allowed Gary Anderson to escape and Naomi Long has questions to answer - Burrows

Gary Anderson, jailed for the brutal murder of father-of-five Karol Kelly in Londonderry in 2023, was allowed out on compassionate leave grounds – despite concerns he was a flight risk.

The killer escaped from a civilian chaperone – prompting a cross-border manhunt involving police in Northern Ireland and Garda in the Irish republic.

Last week, the Alliance prisons minister said there was “no suggestion that the Prison Service misjudged the case” – but admitted it was a “highly unusual” situation.

Over the weekend, a High Court ruling relating to the case was published, which the UUP leader says has exposed “catastrophic failures in senior decision-making at HMP Maghaberry” and raises serious questions about assurances given by Minister Long to the Assembly.

The minister says she will make an oral statement to MLAs on Monday, but Mr Burrows wants a full Assembly debate on the matter to allow for greater scrutiny.

A justice department statement said that a “reconsideration of the original decision” regarding Gary Anderson’s temporary release was discussed during a court hearing, however, this was not communicated to the prison service.

Mr Burrows said: “My first thoughts are with the family of Karol Kelly. They have already endured the most appalling loss and have now been retraumatised by the release and subsequent absconding of the man convicted of his murder.

“This judgment is damning. It exposes catastrophic and inexplicable failures in senior decision-making, procedure and record-keeping at Maghaberry Prison.

“The substantive decision to refuse Gary Anderson compassionate temporary release was, in my view, clearly correct. His subsequent absconding has only underlined the serious risk he presented.

“However, that decision was catastrophically undermined by incorrect information, missing records and an extraordinary refusal to reconsider it when the court provided an opportunity to do so.

“The refusal relied on incorrect information about Anderson’s assessed risk of reoffending. When checked during the hearing, the Prison Service could not produce the alleged updated assessment, and the colleague who supplied the information could not recall where it had come from.

“This was not a minor administrative error. The incorrect information went directly to the assessment of the risk posed by a convicted murderer and was expressly relied upon in refusing his release.

“When the error was exposed during the urgent hearing on Sunday, the judge gave the Duty Governor further time to locate the assessment and invited him to reconsider the decision using accurate information.

“That was an opportunity to correct the failure, prepare a fresh and legally robust assessment and potentially provide the court with lawful grounds to keep this dangerous prisoner in custody.

“Instead, the Duty Governor declined to reconsider the decision and left the matter in the court’s hands, without supplying updated, reliable and accurate evidence. The judge described this as a ‘somewhat surprising refusal’ and said that the court had been left with ‘no alternative’ but to order Anderson’s release.

“This was not simply a judge substituting a different view of risk for that of an experienced prison governor. The decision collapsed because it relied upon materially incorrect information, the assessment supposedly supporting it could not be produced and the Duty Governor refused the opportunity to reconsider.

Last week, Mr Burrows asked the minister whether there were lessons for the Prison Service in how its decision had been “formulated, recorded or written down” so that it would be more resilient to legal challenge.

Mrs Long said there was “no suggestion that the Prison Service misjudged the case”, that its decision was “correctly taken and was right” and that she did not believe the Prison Service was at fault.

“That account must now be reconciled with the judgment”, Mr Burrows said.

He called for “an urgent and independent examination of the decision-making, record-keeping, senior oversight and handling of the judicial review. Those responsible must be held to account

“This is not criticism of front-line prison officers. It is about accountability for senior-level failures that created the circumstances in which the court said it had no alternative but to order the release of a dangerous murderer who subsequently absconded”.

Gary Anderson absconded last Monday after being granted temporary release from Maghaberry Prison to attend his father’s funeral. He has not been seen since. The public have been advised not to approach him.

In a statement, the Department of Justice said: “The Justice Minister remains deeply concerned about the circumstances surrounding the compassionate temporary release of Gary Anderson and his subsequent absconding.

“In particular, she is acutely conscious of the distress the situation has caused to the family of Karol Kelly, with whom she intends to meet at the earliest opportunity, as well as wider public concern.

“Since reporting to the Assembly earlier this week, and on foot of the review which she committed to regarding the circumstances of this case, further information emerged regarding the handling of the case and events surrounding the judicial review proceedings.

“As soon as the Minister was made aware of these issues, she instructed the Director General of the Northern Ireland Prison Service (NIPS) to undertake an urgent investigation into these matters.

“As a result, it now appears that, while the Court’s judgment records that the possibility of a reconsideration of the original decision was discussed during proceedings, this opportunity was not communicated by legal representatives to those within NIPS who held responsibility for the decision.

“Updates provided to NIPS following the hearing, including legal readouts, did not indicate such an opportunity had been offered.

“The Minister is clear that it is important that all relevant facts are established and considered carefully, and she intends to update the Assembly at the earliest opportunity as to the actions she will be taking to ensure that this happens.

“Indeed, immediately on becoming aware of this new information, she indicated her intention to make an Oral Statement to the Assembly on Monday to the Speaker's Office.

“While Gary Anderson remains unlawfully at large, the Minister has also urged him to surrender himself to authorities immediately, and asks anyone with information regarding his whereabouts to contact the PSNI without delay”.