Investigator did not work on NI documentary, secret surveillance court told – Homepage

By Jess Glass, PA Legal Editor

The senior officer who investigated an alleged leak in a documentary about the Troubles massacre was not “exercised” by the film, a court investigating allegations of illegal spying on journalists has heard.

The Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT) in London is examining allegations that investigative reporters in Northern Ireland were subject to illegal intelligence by police.

Barry McCaffrey and Trevor Birney were arrested in 2018 as part of an investigation into the alleged leak of a confidential document that appeared in No Stone Unturned, about the 1994 UVF massacre in Loughinisland, Co Down.

The two men and the company behind the documentary were later awarded £875,000 in compensation after the High Court in Belfast ruled that warrants obtained by police to raid their homes and business offices in the city were improperly obtained.

In 2019, McCaffrey and Birney filed a complaint with the IPT asking it to investigate whether there had been any illegal surveillance of them.

Three police forces – the Police Service of Northern Ireland, Durham Police and the Metropolitan Police – are now part of a three-day IPT hearing into alleged illegal covert surveillance.

On Tuesday, former Durham detective Darren Ellis, who played a leading role in the investigation, began giving evidence at the Royal Courts of Justice.

Ben Jaffey KC, representing McCaffrey and Birney, suggested that Ellis was “exercised” by the content of the documentary.

“It contained secret information. That’s my only observation,” Mr. Ellis replied.

He later continued: “Nothing exercised me. You keep using that word… I’m a professional.”

The former officer also told the court: “My concern about No Stone Unturned was that it contained secret documents, that’s all.”

Jaffey later stated that Ellis felt the documentary should not have been shown.

But Ellis said: “I don’t think it should contain secret documents… All I ask of people is to follow the law.

“Regarding people, if there is crime, there is crime, if there isn’t, there isn’t, it’s not personal.”

Jaffey later suggested that Ellis tried to persuade the Law Society of Northern Ireland, which regulates lawyers, to “take action” against Mr Birney and Mr McCaffrey’s lawyers.

However, the former Durham police officer said he did not ask the agency to intervene.

Ellis told the court: “I wasn’t asking the Law Society to do anything, but I was concerned.”

He continued: “I was investigating the documents… I can’t investigate with my eyes closed.

“I explained to the right people what my concerns were. It wasn’t done with bad intentions, it was done to get their attention.”

The hearing before Lord Justice Singh, Lady Carmichael and senior advocate Stephen Shaw KC is expected to conclude later this week, with a written judgment expected at a later date.