1 November 2012 Last updated at 07:49 ET

Prison officer murdered after motorway attack

A car was later found burnt out in Lurgan, County Armagh

A prison officer has been murdered after shots were fired at his car, which then crashed on the M1 in Northern Ireland.

The shooting happened on the Belfast bound carriageway between the M12 Portadown exit and the Lurgan interchange at 07:30 GMT on Thursday.

Police are investigating a link between the attack and a burnt-out car found in Lurgan, County Armagh.

NI Secretary Theresa Villiers said it was "a cowardly and evil attack".

"The thoughts and deepest sympathy of us all are with the family, friends and colleagues of the murdered prison officer," she said.

"Like his colleagues across the prison service he was dedicated to serving the whole community in Northern Ireland. This is in stark contrast to the people responsible for this despicable crime."

Northern Ireland Education Minister John O'Dowd described the man's death as a "human tragedy".

"There is no justification for continued conflict in this society," he said.

Lagan Valley MP Jeffrey Donaldson said his thoughts were with the dead man's family.

He expressed his anger that there was a small element in society that was "determined to drag us back to the dark days of the past".

Labour's Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary Vernon Croaker said the attack was "sickening and despicable".

"Prison officers do a remarkable job in very difficult circumstances. An attack on any one them is an attack on the criminal justice system, the law and the community," he said.

SDLP assembly member for Upper Bann, Dolores Kelly, said the incident was "sickening and disturbing".

East Belfast MP Naomi Long also expressed sadness following the shooting.

"It has particular ramifications for people," she said. "It is very distressing but also very upsetting in a political way. What the people in Northern Ireland want is for this to be over."

This is the thirtieth prison worker to be murdered since 1974 in Northern Ireland.

The last prison officer killed was Jim Peacock who died on 1 September 1993.

Loyalist paramilitary gunmen from the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) sledgehammered their way into the Peacock family's Joanmount Park home in north Belfast and shot him dead.

The motorway has been closed in both directions.

Source : bbc[dot]co[dot]uk