Are UK journalists under state surveillance?
Episode 39 of the Media Confidential podcast, hosted by Prospect Magazine, titled "Are UK journalists under state surveillance?" was published on January 30, 2025 and runs 44 minutes.
January 30, 2025 ·44m · Media Confidential
Summary
On 18th June 1994, Catholic pubgoers in Loughinisland, County Down, were watching a World Cup match when a loyalist paramilitary group burst in and murdered six civilians, wounding five others. To this day, no-one has been charged for the crime. Produced by journalists Trevor Birney and Barry McCaffrey, No Stone Unturned (2017) told the story of the massacre, revealing how the police had colluded in protecting the gunmen. When the film disclosed anonymous documents identifying the murder suspects, the Northern Irish police service (PSNI) arrested Trevor and Barry—and both of their homes were raided by armed police—to discover the source of the leak. Last December, a tribunal found that the PSNI and Met police also unlawfully spied on both journalists, long before the film was even produced. They join Alan and Lionel to tell their extraordinary story, and ask: could other journalists in the UK be under surveillance by the authorities?To read more about Northern Ireland’s police spying scandal, head to www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/law/crime-and-justice/68906/northern-irelands-police-spying-scandal Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episode Description
On 18th June 1994, Catholic pubgoers in Loughinisland, County Down, were watching a World Cup match when a loyalist paramilitary group burst in and murdered six civilians, wounding five others. To this day, no-one has been charged for the crime.
Produced by journalists Trevor Birney and Barry McCaffrey, No Stone Unturned (2017) told the story of the massacre, revealing how the police had colluded in protecting the gunmen.
When the film disclosed anonymous documents identifying the murder suspects, the Northern Irish police service (PSNI) arrested Trevor and Barry—and both of their homes were raided by armed police—to discover the source of the leak.
Last December, a tribunal found that the PSNI and Met police also unlawfully spied on both journalists, long before the film was even produced.
They join Alan and Lionel to tell their extraordinary story, and ask: could other journalists in the UK be under surveillance by the authorities?
To read more about Northern Ireland’s police spying scandal, head to www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/law/crime-and-justice/68906/northern-irelands-police-spying-scandal
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.