PSNI enquiries after covert police identified in document security breach

It has not yet been established if a criminal investigation is required, but two of the officers affected and a number of political representatives have called for police action.

The security breach occurred when the Coroner’s Office forwarded a highly confidential document – naming 18 police and one member of the security services who were linked to an inquest hearing – to solicitors acting for the family of the deceased, Neil McConville, in early October.

Mr McConville was shot dead by police near Glenavy in 2013.

Although the firms involved have declared the sensitive material was deleted as requested, the former officers claim this is the third similar incident and is a major deterrent to them engaging with the coronial system.

One of the ex-officers said: “What I would like to know is whether the Coroner’s Office has established who was responsible for this. There needs to be a thorough police investigation to get to the bottom of how this can happen repeatedly.”

A second said: “No-one seems to be taking it seriously – the DoJ have played it down and the PSNI have refused to investigate a complaint of misconduct in a public office. My question is this, was the leak deliberate as it is the third one that I am aware of?”

The officers involved in the fatal shooting of Mr McConville were attached to the PSNI’s Headquarters Mobile Support Unit (HMSU).

On Friday, a PSNI spokesman said: “The Police Service of Northern Ireland has received and recorded a complaint in relation to this matter and are making enquiries. As the matter is ongoing, it would be inappropriate to comment further.”

The Department of Justice said the breach has not been reported to the Information Commissioner’s Office,

A DoJ spokeswoman said: “The data incident was reported to the Department of Justice Information Security Team. The threshold for reporting to the ICO is that an incident should be reported if the incident itself introduces a risk to the rights and freedoms of the individual concerned. The assessment was that in this case the threshold had not been met.”

A spokeswoman for the Legacy Inquest Unit at the Coroner’s Officer said: “The LIU has also communicated comprehensively with the Crown Solicitor’s Office (which represents the affected individuals) in respect of these matters and continues to engage with the Office of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland and the Records and Information Management Team at the Department of Justice.

“A full review of disclosure management procedures, including looking at the responsibilities and obligations of partner disclosure providers, is currently underway.”