Police illegally spied on journalists, court

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) and the Metropolitan Police acted illegally by spying on two Belfast journalists to identify their sources.

The landmark decision was handed down by the Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT) in a case brought by Barry McCaffrey and Trevor Burney.

It found that police actions were disproportionate and undermined domestic and international protections available to the media when expanding covert surveillance operations.

The PSNI has been ordered to pay £4,000 to each journalist, the first time the IPT has ordered damages against a police force for unlawful interference.

In 2018, a civilian employee of the Northern Ireland Police Ombudsman was targeted in an undercover sting operation.

He was suspected of passing on classified documents to journalists that were published in a documentary called No Stone Entered. Killings in Loughinisland.

The film revealed how police colluded to protect loyalist gunmen who killed six Catholic men in 1994 while watching a World Cup football match in a County Down village.

Barry McCaffrey and Trevor Burney were arrested after their homes and offices were raided.

They later won a court case that found the warrants used to search their homes were “improper”.

A High Court judge said they acted appropriately to legally protect their sources and the PSNI later paid £875,000 in damages.

The journalists brought their case to the IPT at the Royal Courts of Justice in London, arguing that the police had made repeated and unjustified attempts to identify their sources.

During a tribunal hearing in October, PSNI lawyers denied there had been a cynical attempt to deliberately circumvent long-established legal protections for journalists and their sources.

In a written decision, the IPT rejected the police’s claims that the surveillance operation was only aimed at targeting the police ombudsman.

The IPT ruled that former PSNI chief constable Sir George Hamilton had failed to meet the necessary legal standard and had ignored the need for strict scrutiny of surveillance applications in cases involving journalists.

Further revelations to the IPT reveal that the Metropolitan Police acted illegally in 2012 by accessing the phone records of Barry McCaffrey and former BBC journalist Vincent Kearney.

The Metropolitan Police also obtained more than 4,000 text messages and phone communications from Trevor Burney and Barry McCaffrey.

This data was later shared with the PSNI.

Police documents revealed how Barry McCaffrey was repeatedly described as a “suspect” associated with “other criminal suspects”.

Commenting on the decision, PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boucher said he accepted that “adequate consideration was not given to whether there was an overriding public interest in interfering with journalistic media before allowing surveillance”. .

“This was one of many difficult decisions on a complex and fast-moving day for policing in Northern Ireland which involved balancing competing interests at speed.”

He added that he was committed to ensuring that the PSNI used the powers available to them in a way that was “lawful, proportionate and accountable”.

A Policing Board spokesman said they would “consider the consequences of the decision” and would “talk to the chief constable as soon as possible”.

The board has asked the chief constable to provide the McCullough report by March 31, 2025.

The McCullough Review, chaired by Angus McCullough KC, is an independent review of any use of surveillance by the PSNI against journalists and other specific groups. Which was announced by the Chief Constable in June..

Welcoming the decision, Trevor Burney said the decision “highlights the critical importance of freedom of the press and the protection of confidential journalistic sources”.

He added that he hoped it would “protect and encourage” journalists pursuing stories in the public interest.

“The judgment serves as a warning that illegal state surveillance targeting the media cannot and should not be justified by broad and vague claims by the police,” he said.

“The verdict raises serious concerns about the misuse of police powers and the law. Our case has exposed the lack of effective legal safeguards governing secret police operations.

“As a result of our case going to the investigative powers tribunal, the PSNI has already been forced to admit that it spied on 300 journalists and 500 lawyers in Northern Ireland.”

Mr Burney added that only a public inquiry could fully investigate police spying operations.

Barry McCaffrey said the IPT decision reinforced the urgent need for increased legal protections to protect journalists and their sources.

He said the verdict “exposed significant failures in both the monitoring and oversight of surveillance actions taken against journalists and their sources”.

“Despite all their efforts, the police have so far been unable to identify our sources for the film,” he said.

“They wasted police time and resources going after us instead of the Loganland killers.”

He added: “The judgment, particularly the condemnation of Sir George Hamilton’s leadership, highlights the urgent need for reform.

“The police need to change, they must respect freedom of the press, they must uphold the rule of law and uphold the democratic principles of transparency and accountability.”

Alliance Party policing board member Nuala McAllister said it was a dark day for policing in Northern Ireland.

“Freedom of the press is the cornerstone of democracy and something that cannot be compromised,” he said.

National Union of Journalists (NUJ) assistant general secretary, Seamus Dooley, said: “At the heart of this case is a lack of respect for due process and a failure to recognize that journalists have the right and duty to investigate public affairs. Importance.”

Amnesty International’s Northern Ireland Director Patrick Corrigan said: “The right of journalists to protect their sources is a cornerstone of a free society, and the PSNI deems it appropriate to enforce every human rights measure designed to protect this right.

“The truth had to be dragged kicking and screaming into the light, and today’s verdict is a testament to the tenacity and determination of Trevor Burney and Barry McCaffrey,” he said.