The PSNI sought help from the Metropolitan Police in 2011 to monitor BBC journalists in Belfast, leading to unlawful phone surveillance to uncover confidential sources. MPs heard from journalists Barry McCaffrey and Trevor Birney about the extent of this monitoring, which violated legal boundaries. A shift in police tactics started with former Met Chief Hugh Orde's policies, initially aimed at preventing leaks but evolved into offensive surveillance of journalists, demonstrating a pattern of misuse of power and erosion of press freedom.
Basically, a UK police force was spying on the state broadcaster, the BBC and its journalists and sharing that unlawful surveillance data with at least two other UK police forces.
What started as a 'defensive operation' to crack down on Police officers leaking to the press, turned into an offensive operation that also monitored journalists.
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