Killer of Belfast schoolboy Thomas Devlin mounts legal challenge to monitoring of prison calls to his family as a breach of his privacy

Nigel Brown, 40, is seeking to judicially review the Northern Ireland Prison Service amid claims that the surveillance breaches his right to privacy.

Brown, who now uses his mother’s name and is taking the case as Nigel Lundy, is serving a minimum 20 years behind bars for the murder of Thomas Devlin.

Fifteen-year-old Thomas was stabbed to death close to his home in the north of the city in August 2005.

He suffered multiple wounds to the chest, abdomen, arm, hip and face. His friend, Jonathan McKee, was also attacked and knifed in the stomach.

The victims had been walking back from a local shop with a third teenager when the killers struck on the Somerton Road.

In 2010 Brown, formerly of Whitewell Road in Belfast, and 37-year-old Gary Taylor, from Mountcollyer Avenue in the city, were jointly convicted of murder and attempted murder.

The trial judge said it had been a motiveless attack on utterly defenceless and harmless boys which shocked the entire community. Taylor was ordered to serve at least 30 years in prison.

Based on the period Brown has spent on remand, the tariff on his life sentence is due to expire in February 2028.

He is challenging the Prison Service for monitoring virtual zoom calls he has at HMP Maghaberry with family members and his fiancee.

Lawyers for Brown further claim there has been a failure to formulate a policy to protect against the arbitrary surveillance of prisoners’ communications conducted by video-link.

They are seeking a declaration that the situation is unlawful, irrational and in breach of the right to private and family life under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

In court today counsel for the Prison Service said a review is currently being carried out, and indicated progress on a policy is expected in the next four to six weeks.

“It is anticipated that issues (in this case) will be addressed as part of that, they are under active consideration.”

Based on those indications of a potential “shift in the landscape”, Mr Justice Scoffield agreed to adjourn proceedings for a six-week period.

Outside court Brown’s solicitor, Owen Beattie, said: “This challenge has brought a spotlight to the privacy issues faced by prisoners every day.

“There has been welcomed progress, but there is still a long way to go to ensure that all prisoners’ rights are protected.”