UK media stopped from naming spy

Published December 28, 2005

LONDON, Dec 27: The British government issued an order on Tuesday forbidding the domestic media from revealing the identity of a British spy reported to have helped torture terrorist suspects held in Greece. A leading Greek newspaper has named a man it claims is the station chief in Athens of Britain’s foreign intelligence agency MI6.

He and another British official are alleged to have helped the Greek authorities arrest and then interrogate 28 Pakistani-born detainees seized in connection with the July 7 bombings in London.

A spokeswoman for the Foreign Office said it would not confirm or deny the allegations, which were published in the To Proto Thema newspaper on Sunday.

She said the government had issued a so-called D-notice, prohibiting the British media from naming the man.

The British authorities have previously denied all involvement in the alleged incident, which has been in the headlines for several weeks.

Earlier this month, Greece’s Public Order Minister George Voulgarakis argued that the detainees’ claims were a big misunderstanding.—AFP

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