The ‘spy’ who came in to be told…

By Soteris Charalambous

A BRITISH man watching Sigma television news on Monday night was shocked to discover he had been arrested earlier that day outside the Paphos air base as a suspected spy.

Stunned by the revelation, he presented himself to his local police station, who knew no more about his ‘arrest’ than he did.

Police Spokesman Christakis Katsikides rubbished the TV news report yesterday, adding that nobody had been arrested or even investigated after Sigma claimed a Briton had taken video footage at the Paphos airbase on Monday evening.

The allegations were repeated in yesterday’s Simerini, which belongs to the same media group as Sigma.

“Nobody was accused and nobody was arrested. Let me make that clear,” Katsikides said.

The Briton was, however, using a camera in the vicinity, and footage was shown on Sigma’s evening news suggesting the tourist was filming Paphos air base, where the National Guard’s attack helicopters are based.

“Somebody was seen photographing in the area, but of his own accord he presented himself to police after seeing pictures of himself on television and asked what was going on,” Katsikides said.

According to the police spokesman, the un-named Briton co-operated fully with officers, handing over his equipment and cassette, which were checked.

“Nothing suspicious was found and no further investigations concerning the man will be made in relation to this incident,” Katsikides added. “This is not considered a serious incident, and as far as the police is concerned the case is closed.”