MI5 Admits Unlawful Journalist Surveillance

MI5 told the Investigatory Powers Tribunal that it unlawfully obtained communications data from former BBC journalist Vincent Kearney in 2006 and 2009, breaching European Convention on Human Rights Articles 8 and 10. Counsel said it appears to be the first time MI5 has publicly acknowledged interfering with a journalist’s communications data. The case stems from scrutiny of police and intelligence access to reporters’ data in Northern Ireland. — An unprecedented admission by a security agency intensifies the debate over press protections, investigatory powers, and accountability mechanisms for intelligence services.