73 minutes that escapers rue

The breakthrough in the Isle of Wight prison search came as fears were raised that the fugitives may have left the island before the alarm was raised.

Concern that the escapers, Matthew Williams, Keith Rose and Andrew Rodger, may have crossed to the mainland followed new evidence on the timing of their breakout.

Hampshire Police confirmed yesterday that the three had been sighted outside the prison at 7pm last Tuesday, the night of the escape. This meant they had 73 minutes to leave the island before the alarm was raised at 8.13pm. However, the refusal of officers to switch the focus of their inquiry to the mainland culminated in the confrontation which led to Rose, Rodger and Williams being recaptured.

A 160-strong team of officers had scoured the island in vain for the three, all serving life sentences.

There had been a number of reported sightings on the mainland but all proved false. Police also visited known associates of the three men.

Williams, 25, was jailed for plotting an arson and bombing campaign, Rose, 45, for killing Juliet Rowe, a supermarket owner's wife, during a bungled kidnap attempt, and Rodger, also 44, for battering a night watchman to death.

Last night's success could not have come sooner for Michael Howard, the Home Secretary. He had come under intense pressure from Labour following claims that he and Derek Lewis, the chief executive of the Prison Service, had ignored a number of "personal warnings" about security at Parkhurst.

Jack Straw, Labour's Home Affairs spokesman, warned that Mr Howard was now in "deep trouble" and demanded an urgent statement on the affair when the Commons next sits.

Mr Straw was speaking after the Observer claimed senior figures including John Marriott, the Parkhurst governor, and Judge Stephen Tumim, the Chief Inspector of Prisons, had raised fears about Parkhurst security.

Their alleged concerns were about a number of aspects of security, in particular the failure to install a touch-sensitive "geo-phone" system on the perimeter fence - which was cut during the escape. The Prison Service said last night that there were plans to install one.

Mr Straw said: "There now has to be a fully independent investigation into the Parkhurst escapes, which examines Michael Howard's and Derek Lewis's conduct as well as that of the prison governor and the prison warders."

The hunt had concentrated on isolated properties such as holiday homes but they also asked boat owners to check if their craft have been tampered with. They also appealed for information about a red Ford Escort car and a Ford Transit van seen outside theprison at the time of the escape.

Last night, the persistence appeared to have paid off with the highly dangerous prisoners back behind bars.

However, questions remain to be answered over whether the escape could have been averted.