Ulster Unionist Party Leader Jon Burrows MLA has welcomed the arrest of Gary Anderson in County Donegal.

Jon Burrows said:

“I commend the Police Service of Northern Ireland and An Garda Síochána for their joint work in locating and apprehending this dangerous fugitive. Anderson must now be returned to custody in Northern Ireland as swiftly as the legal process allows, and the authorities should pursue any further charges arising from his failure to return to prison.

“My thoughts are with the family of Karol Kelly, who have been put through further distress by this appalling episode. Anderson should never have been released into the care of a civilian chaperone. His arrest ends the immediate search, but it does not answer how a convicted murderer was allowed to abscond.

“We need clear answers about the decisions taken by the Prison Service and the Departmental Solicitor’s Office. The failures that allowed this to happen must be fully examined, those responsible must be held accountable, and the lessons must be acted on so that it never happens again.”