Man charged in connection with murder of NI Prison Officer was photographed with man under surveillance

Vincent Banks, aged 44 and resident in Dublin 7, has pleaded not guilty to withholding information relating to the murder of Northern Ireland prison officer David Black. The Special Criminal Court heard evidence that on 8 October 2012, gardaí observed two men travel from Carrigallen in Leitrim to Dublin as part of an ongoing operation into subversive and dissident activity. Detective Sergeant Ciaran Quigley testified he monitored the journey, whilst Detective Sergeant Bronagh Bergin observed Banks meeting the two men at a public house in Phibsborough. Photographs were taken of Banks in their company. David Black, aged 52 and employed at Maghaberry Prison in County Antrim, was fatally shot on the M1 motorway near Lurgan on 1 November 2012. The prosecution case centres on the alleged purchase of a Toyota Camry, subsequently recovered burnt-out near the scene, with ballistic evidence linking it to the shooting. Banks faces the charge of failing to disclose information he knew might assist in prosecuting the murder between October and December 2012. The trial continues before Mr Justice Paul Butler.