Northern Ireland

Co Tyrone man asks Police Ombudsman to probe 'informer approach'

Cookstown man Peter Tuohey has lodged a complaint with the Police Ombudsman over what he believes was an attempt to recruit him as an informer
Cookstown man Peter Tuohey has lodged a complaint with the Police Ombudsman over what he believes was an attempt to recruit him as an informer Cookstown man Peter Tuohey has lodged a complaint with the Police Ombudsman over what he believes was an attempt to recruit him as an informer

A CO TYRONE man has lodged a complaint after men he believes were police officers tried to recruit him as an informer during a trip to England.

A video of Cookstown man Peter Tuohey challenging two men who approached him at a motorway service station was widely viewed when posted online last year.

The 21-year-old, who is a member of hardline political party Saoradh, had travelled to England to buy a car when the apparent approach took place.

Mobile phone footage of the incident taken by Mr Tuohey shows two men asking him to speak to them.

During the brief encounter one of the men asks Mr Tuohey to "give me five minutes of your time".

One of two men who approached Peter Tuohey at a service station car park in England last year
One of two men who approached Peter Tuohey at a service station car park in England last year One of two men who approached Peter Tuohey at a service station car park in England last year

The Cookstown man later told the pair: "I have nothing to say to you."

Mr Tuohey believes the approach was a bid to recruit him as an informer.

He said he travelled to England by air and only decided to pull into the roadside services a short time before he did.

Mr Tuohey believes the men who approached him had gained access to his mobile phone and emails.

He believes they may have been undercover PSNI officers.

"I have to assume it's the cops because of the accent," he said.

His solicitor Darragh Mackin, of Phoenix Law, said his client was approached "without any justifiable reason".

"Such an approach not only seeks to endanger our client, but it is plainly contrary to the intention of the legislation that allows for such activity in the first place," he said.

A PSNI spokeswoman said: "The Police Ombudsman's Office received a complaint which was forwarded for investigation."