The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) has told the High Court it does not have the money to pay compensation to staff affected by a major data breach two years ago, despite having accepted liability.
The breach involved the accidental release of some personal details for roughly 9,400 officers and staff. Talks to reach a "universal offer" to settle claims have been under way for about a year, but the PSNI said the total cost of a settlement is presently unaffordable within its existing funding.
A statement from the PSNI was read in court on Wednesday saying the Department of Justice and the Department of Finance had approved the principle of a universal offer to individuals, but that the overall figure would exceed available resources. Details of what could be offered to individual staff members have not been made public. A previously published PSNI estimate put the potential bill at more than £100 million.
Edwards Solicitors, which represents many of the people affected, said it was "extremely disappointed and frustrated" that funding concerns were only now being raised. Philip Gordon, head of litigation at the firm, said proceedings were issued in October 2023 and that the breach occurred just over two years ago. He told the court that on several occasions a universal offer had been described as pending "subject to approval" without any mention that funding to allow a resolution remained in dispute.
The chair of the Police Federation, Liam Kelly, described the situation as "a total mess" and said there was an urgent need for the Northern Ireland Executive to seek assistance from the UK government. It is understood Chief Constable Jon Boutcher met Justice Minister Naomi Long this week to discuss the issue.
The case remains before the High Court as claimants and the PSNI continue settlement discussions. The PSNI accepted liability for the data release when the breach first emerged, and legal action by affected staff has proceeded since last year. The court was not given a timetable for when a resolution might be reached, and the PSNI statement said it could not proceed to make offers to settle while the total cost remained unaffordable within current funding.
Any further developments will depend on decisions by the Executive and finance authorities about whether additional funding can be provided or an alternative arrangement put in place to allow individual offers to be made. The PSNI and the departments named in court filings did not provide further comment beyond the statements read to the judge.