Overview
- The Investigatory Powers Tribunal, which published its judgment on Thursday, found several authorisations to access, retain and use Vincent Kearney's phone data were not in accordance with the law and were disproportionate.
- MI5 accepted it breached Kearney's rights under European Convention on Human Rights Articles 8 and 10 while acting in good faith, and the PSNI conceded some requests were unlawful for failing to test whether intrusion met an overriding public‑interest justification.
- The tribunal ordered damages against both agencies, reported as £10,000 each and also reported as €11,721.90 each, giving a combined award of about €23,442.54.
- Evidence heard by the IPT described multiple, years‑long interferences dating from the mid‑2000s to the late 2010s and said the PSNI compiled a detailed profile of Kearney that included personal details and a review of his published work.
- Kearney said the ruling vindicated journalists' right to protect sources and may strengthen safeguards such as independent authorisation and judicial oversight of communications‑data requests to prevent repeat intrusions.