A 50-year-old man as been sentenced to a minimum of 22 years in prison with the rest of his life sentence served under licence, for the murder of Northern Ireland prison officer Adrian Ismay in 2016.

A 50-year-old man as been sentenced to a minimum of 22 years in prison with the rest of his life sentence served under licence, for the murder of Northern Ireland prison officer Adrian Ismay in 2016.
Mr Justice Gerry McAlinden told Belfast Crown Court while sentencing Christopher Robinson for the murder that “the defendant played an important and integral role in planning and carrying out the terrorist operation which resulted in the death of Mr Ismay.”
Mr Ismay, a 52-year-old married father-of-three, died 11 days after suffering serious leg injuries when the Semtex bomb exploded underneath his van shortly after he had driven away from his east Belfast home.
The New IRA claimed to have carried out the attack on the long-serving officer.
Mr Ismay was released from hospital after the blast and had been making good progress, but he died unexpectedly less than two weeks later when a blood clot triggered a heart attack.
He had worked at Hydebank Wood Young Offenders’ Centre in south Belfast, where he trained new recruits to the Prison Service.  
Mr Justice McAlinden added: “His murder was perpetrated in pursuance of a twisted republican terrorist ideology.
“In our troubled society prison officers and police officers have been regularly targeted at home and off duty simply because in those environments they are deemed to be easier targets.
“In such circumstances the need for deterrence can be no less acute and obvious.
He said Mr Ismay was murdered by means of planting an improvised explosive device under his vehicle which was parked outside his house.