MI5 and the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) have been ordered to pay £20,000 in damages to a journalist after they illegally obtained his phone records. Former BBC journalist Vincent Kearney brought the case at the Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT) in London.
The case is believed to be the first time that MI5 has been directed to pay compensation to a journalist. Kearney was the subject of secret operations aimed at discovering his confidential sources while he worked at the BBC in Belfast.
