Billy Wright boasted in the past about surviving numerous republican assassination attempts in his days as a mid-Ulster loyalist leader. Inside the Maze, republicans, particularly INLA members who shared a block with the Loyalist Volunteer Force, could trace his every move and thus pick their moment to murder him.
Wright and his fellow LVF prisoners occupied the C and D wings of H Block 6, while the INLA inmates were in A and B wings, which run parallel. The two areas are connected by a central administration area, which gives the blocks their distinctive H shape.
Billy Wright was shot shortly after 10 a.m. on Saturday morning as he left H6 on a prison van to be taken to the visiting area.
When the prison officers arrived to collect Wright, a call would have been shouted down the C and D wings from the central administration area known as the circle. INLA inmates on the opposite side of the circle would have heard his name being called, and are believed to have taken this as their cue to set their plan in motion.
From the exercise yard at the back of their wings, at least two INLA inmates are believed to have made their way onto the roof of the single-storey building. After Wright had emerged from the administration area and got into the back of the van, they jumped from the roof, forced open the door and shot him. He died instantly.
Three INLA inmates later offered to hand over two guns used in the attack to a priest. When the priest arrived they surrendered without a struggle.
An investigation into the murder is likely to focus on how the guns got into the prison.
In a statement issued last night, the INLA admitted murdering Wright, who was described as a British agent and a sectarian killer. "Our volunteers took this action against the backdrop of increasing loyalist violence and the murders of nationalists. This is not a breach of our stated policy of no first strike."
The statement added: "In conclusion, we warn against any further attacks on the nationalist community. Those who prey on the nationalist working-class can expect to pay the ultimate price."