Escaped prisoner held over killing of detective in Ireland

Terrorist suspect Pearse McCauley was still being questioned by police in the Irish Republic last night about the IRA murder of a detective more than a year ago. McCauley - who escaped, armed, from Brixton jail in south London in 1991 - was arrested in a pre-dawn swoop by armed police on Saturday on an address in Renvyle, Co Galway.

He and a woman, together with a man detained nearby, were taken to Limerick to be questioned in connection with the shooting dead in Adare, Co Limerick, of Detective Garda Jerry McCabe. The latter was gunned down and a second officer seriously injured when the IRA opened fire during an attack on a post office cash delivery. Two men have been charged with McCabe's murder, but police inquiries McCauley, wanted in Britain on charges of conspiring to murder and cause explosions, skipped bail after being detained by police investigating the McCabe killing 16 months ago. He and fellow escaper Nessan Quinlivan served jail sentences in the Irish Republic after getting out of Brixton but both were released as part of the Irish government's response to the last IRA ceasefire.