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February 27, 2026 – UK –
A UK spy tribunal has heard that senior police forces and the security service MI5 unlawfully obtained communications data belonging to veteran journalist Vincent Kearney over several years, in a case that has alarmed press freedom advocates and raised questions about journalists’ rights in the UK. The case unfolded this week before the Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT) in London, where evidence was presented showing multiple breaches of legal safeguards designed to protect journalistic communication.
According to submissions at the IPT, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), MI5, and the Metropolitan Police each conceded that they had illegally obtained Kearney’s phone communications data in several covert operations spanning roughly 2006 to 2014. In some instances, the agencies gathered records relating to hundreds or thousands of calls and texts — information that journalists argue is central to their professional networks and confidential source protection.
At the core of the tribunal’s proceedings is the claim that the unlawful seizures — many of which were carried out under national security or criminal-investigation guises — went well beyond lawful investigative powers and constituted systematic interference with Kearney’s journalistic activities. Court documents showed that the PSNI went beyond merely collecting metadata; it constructed a detailed intelligence profile on Kearney that included his date of birth, residential and work addresses, vehicle information, and even the names of his wife and mother-in-law.
Kearney, who previously served for years as BBC Northern Ireland’s Home Affairs Correspondent before becoming Northern Editor for RTÉ News, described the surveillance as part of a “long and consistent campaign” to identify his confidential sources and undermine his ability to report freely. Legal representatives for Kearney and the BBC told the tribunal the interference has had a chilling effect on his professional relationships and public interest reporting.
The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) have condemned the admitted surveillance as a direct threat to press freedom, highlighting that treating a journalist as a “suspect” and accessing his communications without a proper legal basis sets a dangerous precedent. The unions and legal counsel are seeking damages for Kearney and broader accountability measures to prevent future unlawful state surveillance of journalists.
The IPT’s full judgment is still pending, but the tribunal’s public hearing has already intensified debate about how national security laws intersect with protections for journalists and confidential sources in democratic societies.
Reference –
https://www.doughtystreet.co.uk/news/police-and-mi5-admit-illegally-obtaining-journalists-data
