 The gates were automatically locked-down therefore preventing the van from leaving.Kennaway suggested that had the prison officers not seen them and quickly sounded the alarm, the van could have driven away in time and Wright might have escaped with his life.Before his death in 2001, journalist Martin O'Hagan revealed to fellow journalist Paul Larkin that a high-ranking RUC officer had told him that Wright had received operational assistance from RUC Special Branch along with the code name "Bertie".