PSNI decline to comment on claims it accessed phone records of journalists Trevor Birney and Barry McCaffrey

The PSNI has declined to comment on claims that it accessed the phone records of a journalist who was investigating alleged police corruption.
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By Philip Bradfield
Published 24th Jul 2023, 15:41 BST
Updated 24th Jul 2023, 16:06 BST

The investigatory powers tribunal (IPT) is investigating claims that the PSNI spied on journalists Trevor Birney and Barry McCaffrey in a bid to identify their sources.

The tribunal is examining a complaint by the pair, who asked it to find out whether the PSNI and Durham police, as well as MI5 and GCHQ, used intrusive surveillance powers against them.

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The journalists were controversially arrested in 2018 in connection to their work investigating the shooting of six men by the UVF in 1994. The PSNI later agreed to pay some £875,000 damages to the pair and their production company.

Barry McCaffrey (left) and Trevor Birney standing outside Belfast High Court in 2019. At the time Northern Ireland's police chief made an unreserved apology to the two investigative journalists arrested over material that appeared in a documentary on a Troubles massacre.Barry McCaffrey (left) and Trevor Birney standing outside Belfast High Court in 2019. At the time Northern Ireland's police chief made an unreserved apology to the two investigative journalists arrested over material that appeared in a documentary on a Troubles massacre.
Barry McCaffrey (left) and Trevor Birney standing outside Belfast High Court in 2019. At the time Northern Ireland's police chief made an unreserved apology to the two investigative journalists arrested over material that appeared in a documentary on a Troubles massacre.

Earlier this year they pair learned that, without their knowledge, the tribunal has been conducting an investigation into the lawfulness of a 2013 authorisation the PSNI used to collect communications data regarding McCaffrey’s phone records. The Guardian reported that the surveillance is alleged to have begun after he lodged questions with the PSNI press office about claims of corruption in the PSNI.

Alliance North Belfast MLA Nuala McAllister said her party has raised the matter with the Policing Board.

"As an investigation is underway we need to let it run its course but we have major concerns over this issue," she said. "We will be asking questions to PSNI leadership at the Policing Board about if or how widespread this issue was and to ensure there is extensive scrutiny of the past and current practices in relation to this matter."

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SDLP Stormont Leader Matthew O’Toole MLA said the PSNI must respond to questions on the matter.

“These latest revelations around the work of Barry McCaffrey and his colleague Trevor Birney are extremely concerning and leave the PSNI and its leadership with serious questions to answer about the conduct of our police service and their attitude towards journalists and the media," he said.

Patrick Corrigan, Amnesty International’s Northern Ireland Programme Director, said: “The police have serious questions to answer about the secret surveillance of journalists in Northern Ireland. Snooping on a journalist’s phone is potentially a serious breach of human rights."

A PSNI spokesman said: "As the matter is subject to ongoing legal proceedings, it would be inappropriate to make any comment at this time."

NUJ assistant general secretary Séamus Dooley, said: “By any measure this is a shocking revelation and is the cause of utmost concern.”

He added: “The NUJ has always opposed secret investigations, justified on spurious security grounds. Trust in the PSNI will not be restored if there is a constant attempt to conceal the truth or to put barriers in the way of those who seek to carry out journalism in the public interest."