Driver lodges complaint against C4 crew [November 14 2013]

The driver of the hired van who is said to have transported the Channel 4 news crew from Anuradhapura to Colombo had lodged a complaint with the police saying that he was not paid for the ride, the police said.

S K Sanjeewa De Silva of No.12, Suhada Mawatha, Anuradhapura had lodged a complaint with the Slave Island Police today that the six foreigners brought from Anuradhapura yesterday had declined to pay the fee of Rs.30, 000 once they were brought to Colombo.

The driver had told the police that he had managed to identify two members of the group as C4 Director Callum Macrae and C4 News Foreign Affairs Correspondent Jonathan Miller. The group had spent last night in Dambulla prior to their departure to Colombo this morning, the police spokesman said.

The Channel 4 News crew were sent back to Colombo by the police in a special vehicle after their train journey to the North was barred by a group of protesters at the Anuradhapura Railway Station yesterday.

Referring to the incident Media Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said that the safety of the Channel 4 journalists is of paramount importance and travel restrictions would be imposed concerning their safety.