Devendra Kumar
A tribunal in London has heard allegations that police in Northern Ireland spied on journalist sources, with evidence suggesting that the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) engaged in covert operations to uncover links between reporters and officer sources. The revelations emerged during a hearing examining allegations of unlawful surveillance against two investigative reporters, Barry McCaffrey and Trevor Birney. The pair were arrested in 2018 over the alleged leaking of a confidential document that appeared in a film they made about a Troubles massacre. The PSNI later apologized and agreed to pay the journalists £875,000 in damages.
The tribunal was presented with 600 pages of new evidence, including a Durham Constabulary minute detailing a meeting between the senior investigating officer from Durham and two PSNI detective sergeants. The minute referred to a PSNI “defensive operation” involving the cross-referencing of billing with police telephone numbers on a six-monthly basis, targeting a group of Northern Irish journalists who had written unfavorably about the PSNI. The operation was allegedly in place in 2017, but the exact start and end dates, as well as the details of the operation, remain unclear.
Barrister Ben Jaffey, representing Mr. McCaffrey, described the PSNI’s actions as “Orwellian” and argued that the operation was unlawful. He noted that the PSNI had failed to provide a response to the disclosed material and that the alleged surveillance extended beyond the two journalists at the center of the case. Evidence suggested that the PSNI may have also spied on other reporters in the region.
The tribunal also explored allegations of police surveillance against Mr. McCaffrey in 2011 and 2013, as well as claims that the Met Police illegally obtained his phone data. Fresh evidence raised further concerns, including an attempt to access data from Mr. Birney’s wife, a consideration of accessing Mr. Murphy’s personal data, and a bid to secure international intelligence on Mr. McCaffrey. The BBC has also joined the case, alleging that one of its former investigative reporters, Vincent Kearney, was spied on by the PSNI.
Outside the Royal Courts of Justice, Mr. Birney and Mr. McCaffrey expressed their concerns about the PSNI’s actions, with Mr. Birney describing the police as “absolutely obsessed with journalists and their sources.” The pair called for transparency and accountability from the authorities, arguing that the public’s confidence in policing is at risk if journalists are subjected to such surveillance. Mr. McCaffrey added that the public needs to be aware that their phone communications may be compromised, and that the “dark arts” of surveillance are still thriving despite the Good Friday Agreement.