The Ministry of National Security has urged the public to disregard allegations that it cloned the phone of one of the conveners of the #FixtheCountry protest after a meeting earlier in the week.

In a statement, the ministry described the claims as “false and baseless.”

The ministry noted reports indicating that one Oliver Barker-Vormanor, a convener of the #FixtheCountry campaign, alleged that operatives of the Ministry of National Security coerced conveners into a meeting with Cabinet.

The meeting came as the campaigners were planning a protest which was scheduled for today, May 9, 2021.

Police have since secured an injunction to stop the protest from coming off in its original format.

Oliver Barker-Vormanor further alleged that the operatives unlawfully cloned one of the phones of the conveners and assessed private chats.

The protestors felt the State was now monitoring the phone records of some of them.

But the ministry has said, “consistent with standard practices, the phones of all visitors are kept at the reception of the Ministry.”

The Ministry said it “has no basis to and did not tamper with the phones of the conveners.”

“The allegation that they were coerced into a meeting is therefore untrue,” it added in the statement.

The Ministry noted further that “in instances where the Agencies of the Ministry have need to investigate the electronic devices of a person, legal methods such as a proper court warrant are employed.”