A Belfast law firm has said it has been instructed by black taxi drivers to take legal action following ‘IRA’ claims (Stock image)
Kurtis ReidBelfast Telegraph
Several black taxi drivers in Belfast are set to take legal action following a memo issued by security responsible for a leading tech conference which suggested they were operated by the IRA.
Solicitor Colin McMenamin informed the Belfast Telegraph that KRW Law has been instructed by a number of drivers following complaints over abusive comments made to them.
Last week it emerged a memo had been issued containing instructions to visitors of the CyberUK 2023 conference, being staged in Belfast, about visiting Northern Ireland.
Some of the guidance included advising attendees to not get into black taxis “because they are run by the IRA” and how those with “English accents” will not be welcome in certain parts of the city.
It also warned that security may be compromised if delegates were to “eat outside the city centre” and instructed them to state they were “under a non-disclosure agreement” if asked by anyone why they were in the city.
CyberUK which is operated by the National Crime Security Centre. It confirmed the memo’s existence, after it was reported by The Nolan Show, but insisted it was “sent in error.”
A spokesperson told the Belfast Telegraph: “This is not an NCSC document. It was sent in error by a contractor and contains significant factual inaccuracies. The document has been withdrawn.”
KRW has now said “although the memo was withdrawn” it was “too late because of the reputational damage it caused to a clearly identifiable class of people.”
“Black taxi operatives in Belfast were immediately put at risk because of the toxic content of the memo. We can confirm we have now received instruction from a number of black taxi drivers after complaints over abusive comments made to them,” they said.
“In one of the cases, a driver said that within one or two hours of this being made known he was accused of being in the IRA.
“He has been doing his job for a number of years now. He told us he’s left with little choice but to seriously think about resigning from a job he’s loved doing. He doesn’t want to be accosted like this again. Bluntly, he fears his life is now at risk.
“The ramifications of this are far-reaching. Not only have a clearly identifiable class of people have been defamed, but they are badly exposed here to ridicule and worse. We have no hesitation in issuing proceedings against the offending parties.”
CyberUK is set to take place in Belfast from Tuesday until Wednesday and will feature speeches and workshops from some of the world’s leading tech security experts.
