We are acting on behalf of our above named client who, whilst returning from a family holiday, was held by customs officials on Friday 26th January 2007 at Belfast International Airport before being questioned by two individuals who identified themselves as being members of MI5.
Mr Fox, a former Republican ex-prisoner from Belfast, was subjected to a series of bizarre questions relating to the peace process and the current political situation. Our client instructs us that whilst being held in an interview room he repeatedly enquired if he was under arrest and that he wanted his solicitor notified and present with him. When Mr Fox told them that he was leaving the interview room, the MI5 officers attempted to give him a telephone number to contact them and upon leaving the airport terminal, the registration of the car he was travelling in was noted by police.
Ciarán Shiels, Mr Fox’s solicitor, said today:
“We can confirm that we have written to the PSNI at Belfast International airport and lodged a formal complaint with The Investigatory Powers Tribunal about Mr Fox’s treatment. We consider that he was held in circumstances which amount to an unlawful detention. We have requested that the Investigatory Powers Tribunal investigate this incident as a matter of urgency.”
