Northern Ireland cops whose info was leaked in 2023 may get £240M+ damages

Officers put in danger when republican dissidents grabbed hold of their names and details

Victims have yet to receive any compensation after a document was mistakenly published in 2023 containing data belonging to members of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), however, fresh reports say damages in the case could reach up to £240 million ($320.9 million).

In the incident, the names of all serving PSNI officers, plus their rank and location/department, were mistakenly included in a publicly available Freedom of Information (FoI) response.

While the case has been adjourned to December, it's set to be handled by a mediation process, which is viewed as the best way of reaching a compensation figure for the officers affected by the breach, the BBC reports.

A legal representative for the PSNI said the sum would be put to claimants as a "universal offer," with the main goal being to clear as many of the cases as possible quickly, which would then leave a subset of more complex cases to work through.

We have asked the PSNI for comment.

Philip Gordon, partner at Edwards Solicitors, which is representing around 5,000 of the 7,000 total claimants, said: "Mediation will look at a possible universal offer to officers and civilians we represent as well as the test cases currently being progressed. Mediation advances the case in a meaningful manner.

"We welcome this development and look forward to engaging constructively with the defendant. Any universal offer made will be open to all plaintiffs but will not be suitable for everyone.

"All of our clients will have been affected differently, and we will advise each client as to whether any universal offer might be right for them. We remain committed to getting the best individual result for each client."

The data protection violation itself was one of many public sector leaks that were pinned on faulty practices by organizations responding to requests made under the Freedom of Information Act.

Police forces in Suffolk, Norfolk, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, and London's Metropolitan Police all made colossal data protection blunders in the latter half 2023, not to mention those made by several regional local authorities. Many of the errors were related to FoI responses. 

The publication of PSNI cops' info attracted special attention given the turbulent politics in Northern Ireland, because the personal details of officers potentially landed in the hands of those they seek to prosecute.

Police leaders said at the time they were confident that dissident republican groups had got their hands on the leaked data, branding the incident "a breach of monumental proportions."

Early fears centered on the leaking of home addresses that could be used to target specific officers and their families. However, these weren't included in the leaked dataset.

The surnames and initials of all serving PSNI officers, plus their rank and location/department, were mistakenly included in the FoI response, which was reportedly available to view online for roughly three hours before being taken down.

This amounted to 9,483 individuals. Simon Byrne, Northern Ireland's former police chief, resigned soon after the news of the incident broke.

An investigation examining the effect of the data blunder on PSNI staff was published months later. It revealed multiple officers relocated for their own safety, while others wanted to follow but couldn't fund such a move.

Responses were mixed, however. Some officers were said to have been relatively unaffected despite having their information leaked, while others took sick leave, citing the violation of their privacy as the cause.

The UK's data watchdog, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), said earlier this year that it plans to fine the PSNI £750,000 ($1 million) for the incident.

Information Commissioner John Edwards described the debacle as "potentially life-threatening" and said it could have been easily prevented, as could the "many harrowing stories" of those affected. ®