A tribunal examining alleged unlawful surveillance by British security services began hearings today in London focusing on the case of Vincent Kearney, a veteran journalist currently Northern Editor with RTÉ, and the BBC’s concerns over the handling of his case. The Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT) will consider claims that both MI5 and the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) engaged in unlawful activity targeting Kearney, a former BBC Northern Ireland home affairs correspondent.
MI5 conceded in September 2025 that it had “unlawfully” obtained communications data from Kearney’s mobile phone on two occasions, in 2006 and 2009, according to documents submitted to the IPT. The security service confirmed the breaches in a letter to the BBC and to Kearney, relating to investigations into his work on a documentary concerning the independence of the Office of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland (PONI).
Kearney, who worked at the BBC for 18 years until 2019, alleges he was “treated as a suspect rather than a journalist,” and that the surveillance had a “chilling effect” on his ability to conduct public interest journalism, damaging relationships with sources. He stated that the surveillance represented a “systematic and years-long pattern” of unlawful access to his journalistic sources and professional activity.
The IPT hearings are expected to last several days, with some proceedings taking place behind closed doors. The tribunal will consider whether the BBC was also a victim of unlawful interference with journalistic material, and will determine the level of damages to be awarded. The case also seeks to establish the extent of the PSNI’s involvement in the surveillance of Kearney, building on findings from previous IPT proceedings involving journalists Barry McCaffrey and Trevor Birney in 2024, which found the PSNI and Metropolitan Police had acted illegally in spying on those reporters to identify their sources.
Justice minister Naomi Long has also expressed concern that she may have been the victim of state surveillance following the publication of a PSNI spy report, though this is not directly part of the current tribunal proceedings. The focus remains on the alleged unlawful actions taken against Kearney and the BBC, and whether those actions constitute a breach of source protection and privacy rights.
MI5’s headquarters, Thames House in London, has been the focal point of scrutiny as the security service’s admission of unlawful data collection has been described as a “matter of grave concern” by the BBC. The tribunal is expected to examine the justification for the surveillance and the procedures followed by MI5 and the PSNI in targeting Kearney.
The IPT will also consider the PSNI’s role in potentially attempting to identify sources for a BBC Spotlight program presented by Kearney in 2011, concerning the Police Ombudsman’s Office. The outcome of the tribunal could have significant implications for the relationship between journalists and security services in Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom.
