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Police targeting of Belfast journalists exposes ‘lack of legal safeguards’ for press freedom

Tribunal ruling on Trevor Birney and Barry McCaffrey underscores need to protect press freedom and confidential journalistic sources

Journalists Trevor Birney and Barry McCaffrey: A covert surveillance operation authorised by a Northern Ireland police chief in a bid to unmask a journalistic source was unlawful, the Investigatory Powers Tribunal has ruled. Photograph: Lucy North/PA Wire
Journalists Trevor Birney and Barry McCaffrey: A covert surveillance operation authorised by a Northern Ireland police chief in a bid to unmask a journalistic source was unlawful, the Investigatory Powers Tribunal has ruled. Photograph: Lucy North/PA Wire
Seanín Graham's picture
Seanín Graham
Tue Dec 17 2024 - 15:54

It is six years since police carried out a dramatic early-morning raid on the homes of two Belfast journalists and arrested them for alleged theft and breaching the Official Secrets Act.

Laptops, mobiles, notepads – and even one of their children’s school coursework – belonging to Trevor Birney and Barry McCaffrey were seized.

The raid followed the investigation by the two journalists into the one of the most high-profile massacres of the Troubles when six men were shot dead in a rural pub in Loughinisland, Co Down, as they watched the Republic of Ireland play Italy in the 1994 World Cup.

Confidential police watchdog documents leaked to the journalists by an anonymous whistleblower, which police claimed were stolen, were central to their work in exposing shocking levels of state collusion in the killings.

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[ PSNI and Met police unlawfully spied on two journalists, tribunal finds ]

Their investigation became an award-winning documentary film, No Stone Unturned.

At the time, Birney said the police raid was designed to create a “chill factor” for journalists probing collusion between police and loyalist paramilitaries.

Searches of their homes and offices were carried out by Durham Constabulary, with support from the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI).

On Tuesday, Birney and McCaffrey made British legal history after a tribunal found that the PSNI and Metropolitan Police in London had acted illegally by spying on them to identify their sources.

In an unprecedented move, the Investigatory Powers Tribunal quashed the PSNI’s direct surveillance authorisation for covert targeting of the journalists – and their suspected sources – ordering them to pay £4,000 (€4,800) in damages for unlawful intrusion.

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

[ Shooting Crows by Trevor Birney: Heartfelt personal writing meets hard-edged journalism ]

Standing outside the Royal Courts of Justice following Tuesday’s ruling, McCaffrey called for a public inquiry.

“For this court to have found that a chief constable has acted unlawfully… we think is a major embarrassment. It is something that needs a public inquiry, there is no other alternative,” he said.

The tribunal also found that the Met obtained more than 4,000 text messages and phone communications belonging to the two journalists, along with more than a dozen investigative BBC journalists.

This data was shared with the PSNI.

McCaffrey, the tribunal revealed, was repeatedly referred to in police documents as a “suspect” who associated with “other criminal suspects”.

This was the second time that senior judges vindicated the journalists. A High Court judge in Belfast quashed their arrest warrants in 2019, ruling the actions of the police in searching their homes “inappropriate”.

Commending them, the judge said they had acted properly in protecting their sources in a lawful way. The PSNI subsequently paid damages totalling £875,000.

Welcoming the latest judgment, Birney said he hoped it would “protect and embolden” journalists pursuing stories in the public interest.

[ The Irish Times view on World Press Freedom Day: journalism is under attack and under pressure ]

However, the outcome also raises “serious concerns” about police abuse of power and the law.

“This ruling underscores the crucial importance of protecting press freedom and confidential journalistic sources,” Birney said.

“Our case has exposed the lack of effective legal safeguards governing secret police operations.

“As a result of our case going to the Investigatory Powers Tribunal, the PSNI has already been forced to admit that they spied on 300 journalists and 500 lawyers in Northern Ireland.”

In a statement, current PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boucher said he accepted the judgment and was “committed” to ensuring that the PSNI used powers available to it in a way that was “lawful, proportionate and accountable”.