A taxi driver from north Belfast has claimed that British intelligence recently attempted to recruit him as an informer. Mr Gerard Martin yesterday went public with his allegation, saying he feared for his life as he had refused to co-operate with the MI5 officers who targeted him.
"I've seen five of their faces and God knows what is going to happen to me," said Mr Martin, who for a period of six months acted as a chauffeur around the North for men he initially believed were visiting businessmen.
According to Mr Martin, after driving the men to Enniskillen last month, he was told it was time for "real business". Two of the men then relayed details of Mr Martin's personal life to him, including the fact that loyalists had killed his father, Hugh, in 1972.
Mr Martin said the men threatened to kill him and make his death look like an accident when he said he knew they were MI5 and would not co-operate.
The Sinn Fein Assembly member, Mr Gerry Kelly, claimed it was not an isolated case and indicated how elements of the British establishment were working against the Belfast Agreement.
"They saw Gerard as vulnerable and used the fact that his father had been killed. They blackmailed him and threatened his life, they even offered to buy him a holiday home. Some of the things here you would only expect to see on an American film."