SDLP Mid Ulster MLA Patsy McGlone has called on the Minister of Justice to initiate an independent inquiry into the alleged use of wiretapping of Northern Ireland journalists.
He was speaking after the Assembly debated an SDLP Opposition Day motion which called on the Justice Minister to launch an independent inquiry.
The motion was amended by the Alliance Party to withdraw the call on the Justice Minister to launch such an inquiry.
The Mid Ulster MLA said, “A free press is the cornerstone of any democratic society and plays a vital role in speaking truth to power. Journalists not only have a duty to protect their sources, but they also have the legal right to protect them.
“Surveillance of journalists and their sources has a deliberately chilling effect on the media and like many across society, I am profoundly concerned by industrial scale spying operation used against journalists here that was revealed by the courage and tenacity of journalists Trevor Birney and Barry McCaffrey.
“Recently released PSNI documents have shown that for at least a decade the PSNI, unlawfully, regularly trawled through the phone data of at least 8 journalists trying to identify their sources and as many as ten journalists and ten lawyers were subjected to covert surveillance since 2011. That report was only produced by the Chief Constable after the covert surveillance of journalists here was made public by the Tribunal in London.
“This is no longer a simple operational matter for the Policing Board, this is about public trust that the PSNI will act lawfully, and about how they are held accountable if they do not. It is time for an independent inquiry which will help establish the truth, restore public confidence and ensure this unlawful activity is not allowed to happen again.
“I am disappointed that the Minster chose not to take that opportunity today to launch such an inquiry. The SDLP will continue to hold the Minister accountable on this crucial issue.”
ENDS
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