State Papers from 2004 released as part of the New Year reveal of confidential papers record that Irish officials queried Holyhead port authorities’ questioning of Christy Moore.
Mr Moore was detained for over two hours at Holyhead after arriving on the Dublin ferry. Police interrogated him and driver under London’s Prevention of Terrorism Act. Then torubles were over for a period of nine years when the incident occurred.
Mr Moore was questioned about the lyrics of his songs and contents of his briefcase. In a statement released through his publicist at the time, Moore said none of his equipment, bags or his car was searched by police.
He described the incident as “heavy and harassing and invasive and scary”, and made a diplomatic complaint.
The incident was raised when the department met the London Home Office over the Common Travel Area. File confirmed complaints about Irish passengers being unwittingly photographed at ports and airports, authorities carrying out stops and examinations under the Terrorism Act 2000, and people being asked to fill in personal information on a landing or embarkation card, an act known at the time as “carding”.
Issues involving Moore’s “high profile” case, including the locking of his interrogation room, were also raised in the meeting.
In response, London’s national co-ordinator of ports policing Commander, Bob Milton, stated “this was a “training issue”.
Bob Milton shared “as regards locking the room Mr Moore was detained in, Milton considered that it was up to the officer to decide whether it was necessary to lock an examination room based on whether the person was likely to leave.”
