In proceedings before the Investigatory Powers Tribunal on 15 September 2025, it was confirmed that MI5 has admitted twice unlawfully accessing the communications data of former senior BBC Northern Ireland journalist, Vincent Kearney, in breach of his rights under Article 8 and 10 ECHR. The admissions relate to two occasions in 2006 and 2009 when Mr Kearney was BBC Northern Ireland’s Home Affairs Correspondent. MI5 accepted that at least one of these occasions involved an attempt to identify a confidential journalist source. It is understood that this may be the first occasion on which MI5 has publicly admitted unlawfully accessing communications data relating to a journalist in an attempt to identify a confidential source.
These details emerged during the course of proceedings which Mr Kearney (now the Northern Editor of RTE) and the BBC are bringing against several law enforcement bodies, including the Metropolitan Police Service, the Police Service of Northern Ireland, and MI5 over authorisations made under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 to access journalists’ communications data and to identify confidential journalistic sources.
Jonathan Scherbel-Ball(led by Jude Bunting KC) acts for Vincent Kearney and the BBC, instructed by Ciaran O’Shiel of A&L Goodbody.