BBC News
Speaking on Wednesday, Justice Minister Naomi Long said she believed the prison service had reached “the right conclusion” in relation to Anderson’s release.
“They have the experience of doing these assessments on an ongoing basis. They felt it wasn’t safe on this occasion for him to be released,” Long said.
“But he has rights. He was able to exercise those rights in the court and a judge with that information reached a different conclusion.”
That, the minster said, is “part of the process” and “entirely legitimate”.
Long said the majority of prisoners on short term release return to custody as required.
“This is an unusual situation that we find ourselves in but it is a deeply concerning one,” she said.
“It is not about apportioning blame, it is about trying to find out how we ensure this doesn’t happen again but also how we get this person back into custody.”
The minister, who urged Anderson to hand himself over to police, said he is “a threat to the public and he is potentially also at risk.”
However, the DUP MLA Trevor Clarke, who sits on the policing board, said the whole process needed looked at.
“I think there’s clear evidence that there was an issue in this case and that’s now been borne out because this person hasn’t come back,” he told BBC Radio Foyle’s North West Today programme.
“All of the things that the courts have involved themselves in this one, I think, has been wrong.
“A chaperone as opposed to a proper prison guard, this is an individual who cannot even handcuff the person while they’re chaperoned, so all of the safeguards that could have been put in place weren’t put in place.”
On Wednesday, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) confirmed that Anderson was last seen in the Eastway area of Creggan in Derry.
They also confirmed that they were liaising with An Garda Síochána (Irish police).
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