The former chief executive of Mid and East Antrim Council had a motive to unlawfully remove emails "because of the perception that she was too close to DUP politicians", prosecutors told a court on Monday.
Anne Donaghy, 56, of Clonmore Road in Dungannon is contesting three charges related to the deletion or attempted deletion of correspondence in breach of the Freedom of Information Act, as well as allegations that she aided and abetted another person in doing so. Her solicitor stated she would "vehemently contest these three technical offences".
The emails in question were forwarded to Democratic Unionist Party figures Arlene Foster and Gregg McKeen. They contained a letter that Donaghy had sent to senior officials in London expressing worries about staff safety during post-Brexit inspections at Larne Port.
Aaron McClelland, 49, of Clonmakate Road in Portadown, who is also on trial, faces one charge of attempting to delete an email, which he denies. The court heard he held responsibility for the council's Freedom of Information systems.
According to a regional broadcaster's report, the trial was expected to run over two days and be heard by District Judge Alana McSorley, with one of Donaghy's former personal assistants called as a witness.
How did the letter to London originate?
On 30 January 2021, Donaghy's personal assistant sent a letter on her behalf to the Cabinet Office in London, outlining Donaghy's reservations about how the Northern Ireland protocol was being implemented. In the letter, Donaghy stated she had been advised by MPs Ian Paisley, Sammy Wilson and Jeffrey Donaldson that she should contact the Cabinet Office regarding protocol-related concerns.
She reported that "sinister graffiti" had surfaced at Larne Port, threatening those working at border control posts. These posts had been established at Larne harbour and two other Northern Ireland locations following Brexit, designed to inspect food and live animals arriving from other parts of the United Kingdom. The DUP had publicly opposed these arrangements.
The following day, on 31 January 2021, Donaghy forwarded the Cabinet Office letter to Paisley, Wilson and Donaldson, and subsequently to Edwin Poots, who held the position of DUP Agriculture and Environment Minister at Stormont. Over the following days, she also distributed it to Gregg McKeen, the DUP leader on the council, DUP mayor Peter Johnston, Arlene Foster's personal email address—Foster was first minister at that time—and Gordon Lyons, then DUP economy minister.
What triggered the Freedom of Information request?
Days after Donaghy sent the email to Foster, the council received a Freedom of Information request from journalist Brendan Hughes, who was then working for Belfast Live and has since moved to a national broadcaster. Hughes sought all correspondence, both internal and external to the council, concerning "alleged threats to staff" related to the Northern Ireland Protocol.
The council determined that this information should not be released, citing health and safety and confidentiality concerns, and communicated this decision to Hughes in April.
Two weeks later, Donaghy appeared before a Stormont committee where she faced questioning from MLAs, including Alliance's John Blair, who appeared to possess a copy of the letter sent to the Cabinet Office. Blair questioned why she had consulted DUP politicians but not representatives from other parties.
The prosecution contended that this demonstrated "by the end of April decisions around Larne Port and the Cabinet Office letter were under increased political and media scrutiny". A prosecution barrister told the court: "One line of criticism was that Anne Donaghy had consulted with DUP to the exclusion of other parties. Anne Donaghy and her colleagues could have reasonably expected that other FoI requests would follow."
What did the recorded conversations reveal?
The court heard a recording made by one of Donaghy's personal assistants on 29 April 2021, in which Donaghy could be heard instructing her to delete an email that had been sent to Foster. Her assistant agreed to do so. Donaghy then asked whether the email had "gone anywhere", and responded with "oh no" when her assistant indicated it had "gone upstairs" in connection with a Freedom of Information request.
During her police interviews, Donaghy acknowledged asking her personal assistant to delete the email to Foster. She explained that she had done so because Foster was involved in a libel action and had resigned as first minister during that period. Donaghy stated she was concerned about potential leaks from the council and did not want Foster's personal email address to be made public. She maintained that hard copies of the correspondence existed and that she had only requested deletion of the digital version.
The prosecution countered that Foster's email address was already publicly available at that time and that it was routine for council officials to communicate with politicians using personal email accounts. A prosecution barrister remarked that while he was not suggesting Donaghy was "the DUP's person" or that sending the letter to the Cabinet Office was improper, "there was a perception in some quarters that this was the case and she was coming under pressure from other parties and the media".
What happened with the second email deletion attempt?
A second recording was presented to the court in which McClelland could be heard speaking to another of Donaghy's personal assistants, asking her to delete the email that had been sent to McKeen. The assistant declined to do so, to which McClelland responded: "We never had this conversation".
In his police interview, McClelland stated he believed it was permissible to delete the emails because the council needed to prevent leaks before the Freedom of Information process was concluded, and because hard copies existed. He indicated he retained hard copies in a locked cabinet in his office.
The personal assistant who refused to delete the email to McKeen subsequently provided evidence and was questioned about the council's email retention policy. A defence barrister asked whether she accepted that council policy permitted deletion of an email if it had been printed. She responded: "It reads like it may have been, yes." She added: "We had never done this before for any other FoI."
What is the current status of the trial?
According to court reporting from a regional broadcaster, the case was continuing in court on 24 August 2026, with additional council staff scheduled to be called as witnesses. The Public Prosecution Service had previously confirmed in June 2025 that two individuals were facing allegations over the alleged deletion of emails linked to a Freedom of Information request, with four people mentioned in a police dossier.
According to the broadcaster's coverage, McClelland is also in court facing one count of having attempted to delete an email. The trial concerns alleged deletion of emails from February 2021 connected to the Freedom of Information request.
