A former BBC journalist whose communications data was unlawfully obtained should be awarded “substantial” damages, a specialist tribunal has been told.
MI5 previously admitted that it had unlawfully obtained Vincent Kearney’s data amid proceedings at the Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT).
In a September 2025 letter to the BBC and Mr Kearney – now the northern editor at RTÉ – MI5 said that though it acted in good faith and under any code of practice at the time, it breached the journalist’s rights when obtaining communications data in 2006 and 2009.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) and the Metropolitan Police have also made concessions.
At a hearing on…