Journalist sues PSNI over unlawful surveillance of sources

An investigative journalist, identified in court as YZL, has filed a High Court claim against the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) for unlawful surveillance. The claim seeks damages for misuse of private information, harassment, and breaches of the Data Protection Act following covert attempts by police in 2014 to identify the journalist’s confidential sources.

YZL, who reports on serious crime and paramilitary activity, has been granted anonymity by a High Court judge to protect sources and account for the high-threat environment in which they work. The legal team, represented by solicitor Olivia O’Kane, is also seeking an injunction to compel the PSNI to disclose all documents related to the surveillance, as the extent of the data collection and whether sources were compromised remains unknown.

The legal action follows an independent review by Angus McCullough KC, which found that the PSNI’s Code of Practice used between 2007 and 2015 failed to require an “overriding public interest” for requests to identify journalistic sources. The review identified 21 cases involving eight journalists where police authorizations were deemed unlawful.