'Orwellian' is just one of the less flattering adjectives used to describe the activities of the FTAC that uses the excuse of terrorism to justify the extreme powers it has to effectively suspend habeas corpus and imprison suspects without trial in mental hospitals.

Public concern springs from fears that FTAC will use the methods deployed by totalitarian regimes, such as Stalin's Russia and North Korea, to intimidate and repress political opponents of the ruling Labour party.

Until recently very little information has been forthcoming about how FTAC operates. Last year a UK-based news blog revealed the story of an anonymous member of the British public, Mr X, who was summoned for an interview with his GP (doctor) and told of official concerns that he had called the then home secretary, Jacqui Smith, a communist. The GP told her astonished patient how she had received a letter from the FTAC explaining that the home secretary herself had issued instructions for Mr X to be interviewed to establish his 'state of mind.'

Since then another FTAC suspect, who is willing to be named, has stepped forward to disclose for the first time how he was taken to task after he wrote to the head of the Iraq Inquiry, Sir John Chilcot, describing Tony Blair and George W. Bush as 'war criminals'.

Shortly after writing the letter, Iranian-born computer consultant Majid Shabpar, who has lived in the UK since 1971, visited the houses of parliament in London to lobby MPs and present his perspective about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Shabpar, who also works as a part time university teacher, was able to make telephone contact with one of the secretaries employed by Conservative opposition leader David Cameron. He also tried and failed to make contact with the head of the Liberal Democrats, Nick Clegg.

Shortly before leaving the parliamentary premises, Shabpar remembers being approached by a policeman who asked for some form of identification as he was carrying out a spot security check. Shabpar obliged by handing over his driving licence, which was photocopied and handed back to him.

On January 28, two days after his visit to Westminster, Shabpar was contacted by his GP, Dr Patel, who wanted to talk to him about a call she had received from the FTAC. The following day Shabpar, Patel and a psychiatrist attached to the practice had a preliminary discussion about the concerns FTAC raised through a letter sent to Dr Patel. A further meeting was arranged with Dr Patel for the following week on February 1. Shabpar explains he had to go to the airport and could not keep the agreed appointment. So he left a note at the GP's practice, asking for another appointment.

The following day when he was at home supervising a seminar, Shabpar heard the door bell ring. He excused himself from his student and went to the front door where he was confronted by a posse of health and security experts demanding access to his home. They consisted of three police officers, two nurses, social services personnel and others — about 10 in all — backed up by an ambulance parked on the street. Shabpar refused to let them in unless they could produce a search warrant. After a   further argument and threats to refer Shabpar to a local mental health hospital, the posse left.

The next day Shabpar went back to see Dr Patel and she produced a copy of the letter received from the FTAC. Signed by Laura Garrod, a forensic mental health nurse attached to FTAC, the letter stated, 'I am writing to advise you that the above named patient, Mr Majid Shabpar, may be experiencing some difficulties at present.

'He came to the attention of police yesterday as he attempted to gain entry to the Houses of Parliament in Westminster, London. When stopped, he claimed that the reason for the visit was to speak to Mr David Cameron MP in order to hand him a letter concerning the Gulf conflict. Mr Majid Shabpar stated that he would refuse to talk to Gordon Brown as he was a (sic) 'war criminal.'

'Due to his odd manner and bizarre speech content, the officers involved were concerned that he may be experiencing some mental health difficulties. The officers involved have therefore referred him to our service which is the Fixated Threat Assessment Centre (FTAC).

'FTAC is a service commissioned by the Department of Health and the Home Office and provided by the Barnet Enfield and Haringey Mental Health NHS Trust and the Metropolitan Police Service. I would be grateful if you would consider reviewing your patient in the light of the attached information and, if necessary, arrange a referral to the local mental health service. If he is already known to mental health services, I would appreciate if you could provide me with their detail in order that I express my concerns to them.'

When the existence of FTAC was first revealed by the Mail on Sunday, a spokesman for the human rights group Liberty commented, 'There is a grave danger of this being used to deal with people where there is insufficient evidence for a criminal prosecution. This blurs the line between medical decisions and police actions. If you are going to allow doctors to take people's liberty away, they have to be independent. That credibility is undermined when doctors are part of the same team as the police.'

In a subsequent parliamentary response a spokesman for the British Home Office explained that FTAC was created to 'better protect the public and vulnerable individuals in response to evidence that a significant proportion of people who engage in bizarre communications or contact with prominent people in public life are severely and acutely mentally ill and urgently need professional help. The Home Office, the Department of Health and the Metropolitan Police Service agreed to establish a joint police/mental health unit, on a pilot basis, to assess and manage the risk posed by such individuals.'

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