Last week the Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT) heard of unlawful surveillance against former BBC journalist and National Union of Journalists (NUJ) member Vincent Kearney. The three-day hearing, took place at the Royal Courts of Justice in London, follows an admission by MI5 that it had illegally obtained communications data from Kearney’s phone on two occasions in 2006 and 2009 while he was BBC Northern Ireland’s home affairs correspondent. Kearney, who is now the Northern Ireland editor for RTÉ News, has said this unlawful state surveillance amounted to not just an attack on him, but an attack on public interest journalism. The actions were aimed at identifying his journalistic sources.
Earlier, Jude Bunting KC, Kearney’s counsel outlined the considerable impact of unlawful surveillance on Kearney’s professional reputation, his capacity to protect his sources, his personal and private life and his ability to do his job. The experience had subjected him to considerable risk as a journalist in a post-conflict society.
Kearney’s case arose in a separate IPT hearing, which ruled in December 2024 that the surveillance of NUJ members Trevor Birney and Barry McCaffrey by both the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) and the Metropolitan Police was unlawful. This case was last reported on this web site on 17 November 2025.
Vincent Kearney said: “This process has confirmed that I was the target of a long and consistent campaign of unlawful interference with my confidential journalistic material by the PSNI, MI5 and other public authorities while working for BBC Northern Ireland.The extent of the admitted illegal monitoring of my communications data over a period of many years in an attempt to identify sources was shocking and stark and it’s likely there was more than has been publicly conceded.This conceded illegality has had a real and significant impact and has had a chilling effect on my ability to carry out public interest journalism. Former colleagues in the BBC have also suffered damage to source relationships.These activities were not just an attack on me and my journalism, but also the journalism of the BBC and on public interest journalism itself. Journalists must be free to pursue their lawful duties without fear of illegal efforts by the state to drive a coach and horses through source confidentiality, which is an essential journalistic tenet.”
Laura Davison, NUJ general secretary, said: “These revelations involving state surveillance of journalists in the UK are deeply disturbing. Vincent Kearney’s case underlines the union’s concern over the conduct of police and security authorities, and the apparent disregard for journalists’ right to protect their sources. This information wouldn’t have come to light without Vincent’s courage and the support of the BBC and his current employer RTÉ. The Investigatory Powers Tribunal process is secretive, protracted and costly, taking a significant toll on the wellbeing of our members. The NUJ once again demands a broader, independent investigation to uncover the full extent of surveillance against journalists in Northern Ireland – not only by PSNI but also other police forces and security services.”
She was supported by Northern Ireland director of Amnesty International UK Patrick Corrigan who also called for a public inquiry into the unlawful surveillance of journalists. He said the findings “expose a pattern of unlawful surveillance that strikes at the heart of press freedom. Only a full independent public inquiry with the power to compel evidence can restore trust, deliver accountability and safeguard press freedom in Northern Ireland.”
He has also called on the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Hilary Benn MP to establish a commissioner for covert law enforcement in Northern Ireland to “ensure covert surveillance techniques are only used within the law”. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/czr06j7j5zjo
A spokesperson for the BBC said: “What happened in this instance was wrong and must never be repeated. The independence of what we do is hard won and it’s something that we will fight to protect.”
Among the issues the tribunal is being asked to decide upon are damages, and whether the BBC was also a victim of unlawful interferences of journalistic material. The force has argued that compensation is not appropriate in this case. Its lawyers said efforts to obtain the journalist’s data had been “reasonable” and intended to “further criminal investigations”.
A ruling on the claim for damages and other related matters are awaited.
Our picture from Jess Herd shows Laura Davidson NUJ general secretary; Vincent Kearney and Seamus Dooley NUJ assistant general secretary outside the Royal Courts of Justice.