On Wednesday 9th June, Colin's brother Paul received a letter from Maghaberry prison informing him that he was "banned from visiting any Northern Ireland Prison service establishment until 13th/11/10".  Paul has been unable to visit Colin for a month now due to an immediate ban on him being imposed even though no investigation had been completed.

The decision to ban Paul from visiting his brother is viewed as a "political decision" by the Friends of Colin Duffy campaign group.  A spokesperson for the campaign group said:  "The decision and the timing of it to ban Paul from visiting  Colin is clearly a political decision.  The Prison Service was fully aware that Paul's name, along with others, had been submitted as part of a delegation to visit Republican prisoners in Maghaberry prior to the decision to ban him.  While the Prison Service has agreed to the delegation meeting with Republican prisoners, it has also stipulated that Paul would not be accepted as part of the delegation. One of the reasons given was that "it wouldn't sit well with the POA " (Prison Officers Association). Therefore, the decision to ban him needs to be viewed in this context."