A landmark ruling has left UK intelligence agencies reeling after a former BBC journalist was awarded £20,000 in damages following a finding that MI5 and the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) unlawfully accessed his mobile phone data. Vincent Kearney's case highlights the critical importance of journalistic protections and the need for accountability from those entrusted with powers to investigate.
The Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT), which oversees complaints against UK intelligence agencies, ruled that attempts by MI5 and PSNI to identify Kearney's sources during his tenure as BBC Northern Ireland home affairs correspondent were disproportionate and breached established laws. The tribunal's judgment reinforced the role of journalistic protections, stating, "The heightened protection provided to journalists is not for the benefit of the journalist personally, but for the public interest in the ability of his readers or audience to receive information from him."
Lawyers representing Kearney revealed that between 2006 and 2018, there were seven distinct operations - four by PSNI and three by MI5 - which unlawfully obtained Kearney's confidential communications data. These operations included creating a 'profile' of Kearney, containing personal details such as car registrations and the names of his wife and mother-in-law.
While the agencies could not access the content of calls or texts, monitoring allowed them to see contact numbers, call times, and text durations. The tribunal heard that in one instance, PSNI obtained information relating to 1,580 calls or texts, alongside subscriber names and addresses associated with caller numbers. Kearney, now Northern Editor for Irish broadcaster RTÉ, hailed the ruling as a significant victory for journalism, reinforcing the duty and legal rights of journalists to protect their confidential sources.
The case has echoes of a previous landmark judgment in 2024, where the IPT found that PSNI and the Metropolitan Police had unlawfully conducted covert surveillance on journalists Barry McCaffrey and Trevor Birney. Details from that case suggested other public bodies may have also spied on Kearney, prompting his legal challenge.
PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher has accepted the tribunal's ruling and issued an apology to Kearney. Boutcher confirmed that "significant changes to practice and policy" have been implemented within the PSNI following an independent review. However, while that review concluded improper surveillance was not widespread or systemic, it acknowledged use of journalists' phone numbers for investigating potential leaks by officers or staff.