Northern Ireland: Protest calling for Policing Board inquiry into surveillance of journalists and lawyers

Protest organised by NUJ in solidarity with journalists

Chief Constable’s report must be published ‘without further delay’

Speaking at a demonstration organised by members of the National Union of Journalists in Belfast today in support of a call for the Policing Board to establish an inquiry into covert surveillance, Patrick Corrigan, Amnesty International’s Northern Ireland Director, said:

“It is almost twelve months since we first asked the Policing Board to demand answers from the Chief Constable about police spying on journalists, lawyers and others.

“Finally, today, they are getting some answers to their questions. It should not have been this difficult or taken this long.

“The Board should publish this report without further delay.

“While we welcome the McCullough Review and are now working to shape its terms of reference, we are clear that it cannot be a substitute for the Policing Board holding its own inquiry.

“It is the Board’s role to hold the police to account. That job should not be outsourced to the Chief Constable.                                                                                                                

“An independent Policing Board inquiry into police covert surveillance practices must be set up to establish the extent of these surveillance practices, hold the police to account for any unlawful action and ensure it is not allowed to happen again.”