Northern Ireland

Woman claims she was approached by MI5 officers dressed in PSNI uniforms

MI5 headquarters in east Belfast
MI5 headquarters in east Belfast

A WEST Belfast woman has claimed she was approached by MI5 officers dressed in PSNI uniform.

The woman, who does not want to be identified, claims she was stopped at what she thought was a police checkpoint in the Sandy Row area of south Belfast at around 12.30pm last Sunday.

She said she believes she was followed from west Belfast to the two-man checkpoint.

After being asked for her details, including a phone number, she said one of the pair "introduced themselves as MI5 intelligence officers".

The woman said that during the encounter they named a prominent west Belfast dissident republican, a person she knows but says she hasn't seen in "years."

She said she was asked to meet the pair again and given a telephone number written on a piece of paper.

The woman said she later received a call from the number but did not answer and claimed she has been left feeling frightened.

"You are looking around you at everyone, you are scared of everybody coming to your door," she said.

Appeaking to be "left alone" the woman added: "It makes me feel uncomfortable.

"I was just afraid of it escalating."

A spokeswoman for Republican Network for Unity last night urged anyone who has been approached to make themselves known.

"We are calling on any member of the community who have been approached but not yet given any information to come forward."

A spokeswoman for the PSNI said: "We do not comment on intelligence matters and no inference should be drawn from this."