The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) yesterday applied to the European Court of Human Rights for a declaration that its staff and clients' civil rights were breached by telephone taps carried out by the British government.
The ICCL, the British National Council for Civil Liberties and British-Irish Rights Watch say they are concerned about a Channel 4 report last summer that from 1990 to 1997 all telephone, fax, email and data communications between Ireland and Britain were intercepted by the Ministry of Defence.
In their court application the organisations say they were in regular contact at the time with people who sought their help with alleged violations of civil liberties and human rights. The alleged interception means "their capacity to give legal advice has been damaged and their ability to work together with human rights organisations has been adversely affected".
They are seeking compensation for what they believe to be a breach of Articles 8 and 13 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Channel 4 reported that an electronic test facility at Capenhurst, Cheshire, was being used by the UK Department of Defence to intercept public tele-communications carried on microwave radio. It said the interceptions were to combat terrorism, but the information gathered was also of economic and commercial significance.
The data were gathered without the necessary warrants under the Interception of Communications Act 1985, according to Channel 4. A Home Office spokesman refused to comment at the time.
The facility was closed down in 1998. Most telecommunications traffic is now transmitted via fibre optic cables.
Following the report, the Government instructed the Irish Ambassador to Britain, Mr Ted Barrington, to investigate the matter. He met the Under-Secretary at the Foreign Office, Mr David Manning, in London that month and submitted a two-page report to the Government in August. Sources said his report was inconclusive.
All three civil rights organisations have already lodged complaints with the Interception of Communications Tribunal in the UK. They have also asked the British Director of Public Prosecutions and the Metropolitan Police to investigate the interceptions.
The tribunal concluded that there had been "no contravention" of the Act, while the police said their inquiries had not revealed an offence. The organisations' application to the court alleges that the Act allows interference with telephonic communications for any purpose. The intercepted material is later "sifted" to discover if the material falls within the scope of a warrant. The scheme therefore does not prohibit interferences which are outside the scope of the Act, the application claims.
It says the interference "does not correspond to a pressing social need, is not proportionate to the legitimate aim pursued and the reasons given by the national authority to justify the interference are not relevant and sufficient".
The Capenhurst facility on the England-Wales border comprised a windowless 47-metre tower which cost £20 million to build. It had three floors of aerial galleries on top of eight floors of electronics. It could intercept 10,000 simultaneous telephone channels coming from Dublin to London and on to the Continent.
roddyosullivan@ireland.com
