THE brother of a man shot dead by British soldiers in Co Armagh is to take legal action after claiming he was followed by intelligence officers on holiday all the way to Dubai.
Peter McCaughey is a brother of Martin McCaughey who was shot dead along with Dessie Grew near Loughgall in October 1990.
He said he had been forced to flee the United Arab Emirates after being threatened by two men who identified themselves as senior British intelligence officers.
The alleged approach, which Mr McCaughey described as being “like a 007 film”, is to be reported to the Investigatory Powers Tribunal.
The Dungannon man said two men with “posh public-school British accents” had confronted him a few days into his trip to Dubai this week.
He said one had been carrying a computer containing aerial pictures of Mr McCaughey’s house, car and children’s school.
“The man said his name was Nick and he wanted to take me toAfghanistan to debrief me for two days, that no-one would ever have to know anything about it,” Mr McCaughey said.
“He said if I didn’t go I’d be ‘left at the side of the road’ and they would see 1 was put in prison and my children would suffer.
“He followed me and when I tried to report him to hotel security he said that he would have the local police arrest me and throw me in jail for six months.
“I was that terrified 1 went straight to my room and packed and headed for the airport.”
Mr McCaughey said by the time he reached the airport the two men were already waiting for him.
He got the first flight out, which was to Birmingham.
“I feared for my life and just wanted out of Dubai,” he sad.
“I really thought I was going to be disappeared by them boys, they were so threatening.”
On arrival in Birmingham Mr McCaughey said immigration police had taken him aside and placed him in an interrogation room where a man who also identified himself as British intelligence was waiting.
“He started on me again saying Nick was sorry he couldn’t be there, only I’d left Dubai in such a hurry,” Mr McCaughey said.
Last month the Supreme Court extended the scope of an inquest into the killing of Mr McCaughey’s brother.
He said he thought this ruling might have prompted the approach.
“I’ve been afraid to leave the house. These men knew every detail of my life,” he said.
“I can only think the recent ruling regarding Martin’s inquest has in some way provoked them into targeting me.”
Fearghal Shiels of Madden and Finucane Solicitors said a complaint would be made.
“This is an unprecedented and extremely sinister level of harassment against Mr McCaughey,” he said.
“We will be lodging a detailed complaint with the Investigatory Powers Tribunal about the outrageous and oppressive conduct of British intelligence personnel towards our client.”
