NUJ submits evidence on the safety and surveillance of journalists in Northern Ireland
The NUJ has responded to the Northern Ireland Select Committee’s call for evidence on policing and security in Northern Ireland.
In the submission, the union reiterated longstanding calls to safeguard journalists’ rights and defend media freedom. The NUJ urges the UK government to:
- Introduce legislation to establish a specific Commissioner for Covert Law Enforcement in Northern Ireland with a range of intervention powers to prevent the use of covert policing techniques within the law.
- Appoint an independent body to fully investigate the extent of covert surveillance against journalists, lawyers and human rights defenders in Northern Ireland by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), other police forces, and MI5.
- Establish an independent public inquiry into the 2001 murder of Martin O’Hagan.
The submission details the major challenges to restoring public trust in policing following revelations of unlawful surveillance against journalists Trevor Birney and Barry McCaffrey at the Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT) in December 2024. In an ongoing IPT case, MI5 admitted to illegally obtaining data from the mobile of former BBC journalist Vincent Kearney.
The submission also notes the union’s recent positive engagement with the PSNI on various issues following the publication of the McCullough Review and Amnesty International’s report into threats and violence against journalists in Northern Ireland.
You can read the full submission on the NUJ website.