MI5 has admitted unlawfully obtaining communications data from the mobile phone of former BBC Northern Ireland correspondent Vincent Kearney on two occasions, the security service said in documents submitted to the Investigatory Powers Tribunal.
The concession, disclosed in tribunal papers, relates to incidents in 2006 and 2009. In a statement, Mr Kearney described the admission as "unprecedented" and said it was "deeply concerning" for himself and other journalists. The BBC said the admission raised "serious and important questions" that it would continue to pursue.
Kearney, now the northern editor of RTÉ News, became the BBC's home affairs correspondent in April 2006 after working on the BBC Northern Ireland Spotlight programme, serving as a producer in the Belfast newsroom and previously as a political correspondent at the Belfast Telegraph. He also presented a programme about the Police Ombudsman's Office in 2011.
The matter emerged amid broader proceedings involving two other Belfast journalists, Barry McCaffrey and Trevor Birney. The BBC has previously told the Investigatory Powers Tribunal that lawyers acting for the corporation had written to the tribunal last year about alleged police surveillance of Mr Kearney.
In its statement, the BBC described MI5's admission that it "illegally obtained communications data of a BBC journalist" as a matter of "grave concern." The corporation said it would pursue further details about the nature and scope of the intrusion and whether any additional incidents occurred. Mr Kearney said his ongoing legal inquiries, backed by the BBC, would seek to establish as much detail as possible about the two instances and whether MI5 bore responsibility for any further monitoring.
The Investigatory Powers Tribunal, which oversees complaints about surveillance and investigatory powers used by public authorities in the United Kingdom, was the forum in which the concession was recorded. Communications data typically refers to information about the who, when and where of communications rather than the content of messages, and is regulated under UK investigatory powers legislation.
MI5's concession marks a rare public acknowledgement by a UK security service of unlawful surveillance of a journalist. The admission could prompt further legal and parliamentary scrutiny of how investigatory powers are used in relation to members of the press, though any such steps will depend on subsequent findings from the tribunal process and investigations initiated by the parties involved.
As the legal process continues, both the BBC and Mr Kearney have signalled they will seek fuller disclosure about the circumstances of the intrusions. The Investigatory Powers Tribunal will consider evidence and submissions from the parties as it determines the scope and implications of MI5's admission.