Prisoners Throw Chamber Pot Contents At Governor

Inmates at Portlaoise Prison are under investigation after throwing the contents of their chamber pots at the gaol's governor and various prison officers in a rather direct form of protest.

An investigation is now underway into the incident, which followed a search of a cell on one of the wings housing mainly republican prisoners.

According to reports on Wednesday morning, prison officers were investigating allegations that an INLA member had created a home-made weapon out of a soup ladle.

Inmates subsequently protested that they were being unfairly targeted.

Governor of Portlaoise Prison, Ned Whelan, was attacked while making his regular rounds of the jail and extra staff were called in to deal with the situation.

Two of the prisoners were subsequently brought to the segregation unit.

A total of five prisoners are believed to have been involved in the incident, are reported to have been punished by being locked in their cells without access to phone calls or visits for a month.

The attack comes just days after details of an incident at the Magistrate's Court in Derry when a prisoner sprayed water from a fire extinguisher over a District Judge who had remanded him in custody.

The incident occurred as additional security measures were being installed at the Bishop Street court building by workmen.

At the special sitting of the court on Saturday morning, the man from the Ballymagroarty area of Derry appeared in custody before District Judge Liam McNally charged with burglary and motoring offences.

Bail was refused and suddenly the defendant, who was sitting apart from police officers, reached over and grabbed the fire extinguisher and sprayed it at the District Judge.

The water landed on Mr. McNally and on his bench and papers. He tried to avoid the spray and quickly left the courtroom as police officers wrestled the prisoner to the ground.

The defendant was remanded in custody on the burglary and motoring charges until November 6.

(DW)(BMcC)