Archive · 23 Jul 2026
Tribunal Orders Compensation for Journalist's Phone Data Breach
A journalist named Vincent Kearney used to work for the BBC and now works for RTE.
He found out that the police in Northern Ireland and a British intelligence agency called MI5 had looked at his phone records without his permission.
This was found to be unfair and against his privacy rights.
A special court in London said the police and MI5 had to pay Kearney £20,000 as compensation.
The police chief said sorry and admitted they had made changes to their rules to stop this from happening again.
The Investigatory Powers Tribunal ordered the PSNI and MI5 to pay £20,000 in compensation to Vincent Kearney for unlawfully obtaining his phone records.
Kearney, who now works for RTE, took legal action based on disclosures from a separate case involving two Belfast journalists.
The tribunal described the actions as disproportionate interferences with Kearney's privacy rights and journalistic sources.
Kearney and the BBC welcomed the ruling, while PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher apologized and accepted the ruling.
Boutcher stated that significant changes to practice and policy have been made since the issues occurred.
- Who
- Vincent Kearney, a former BBC journalist now working for RTE, and the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) and MI5.
- What
- The Investigatory Powers Tribunal ordered the PSNI and MI5 to pay £20,000 in compensation to Kearney for unlawfully obtaining his phone records.
- When
- The ruling was made on Thursday.
- Where
- The tribunal is based in London.
- Why
- The tribunal found that the PSNI and MI5 had disproportionately interfered with Kearney's privacy rights and journalistic sources.
Journalist and BBC
Northern Ireland Police and MI5
Compensation and Apology
Journalist and BBC
Vincent Kearney and the BBC welcomed the tribunal's ruling and the apology from PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher.
Northern Ireland Police and MI5
The PSNI and MI5 were ordered to pay £20,000 in compensation to Kearney for unlawfully obtaining his phone records.
- Journalist
- Vincent Kearney
- Organizations Involved
- Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), MI5, BBC, RTE
- Compensation Amount
- £20,000
- Tribunal
- Investigatory Powers Tribunal in London
- Apology
- PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher