The Police Service of Northern Ireland kept inspectors from the Investigatory Powers Commissioner's Office (IPCO) in the dark about two covert operations against journalists in 2018 and 2023, it has been disclosed. Brian Leveson, the investigatory powers commissioner, confirmed in a letter to Northern Ireland's policing board that the PSNI only informed IPCO about the covert operations in 2025, after they had become public.
The stalking was uncovered when his ex-wife found a tracking device attached to her car She later noticed a strange plug behind her TV linked to an Amazon device and realised it was part of a covert surveillance system A man whose "appalling behaviour" saw him cable-tie a tracking device to his wife's car and install a covert camera in her home during a two-month stalking campaign escaped jail today.