Officer moved to Australia to end threats to parents after data breach

A Catholic woman left the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) and moved to Australia to prevent her parents becoming targets for dissident republicans, the High Court in Belfast has heard.

The woman, identified as RB207, was giving evidence via video link in a compensation case against the PSNI over the 2023 data breach.

In the aftermath of the incident, she was twice warned she was under threat of attack.

She claimed the breach "put a target on my family home" and resulted in her taking a job with the Western Australia Police Force.

RB207 is one of six test cases for damages being heard by a judge.

Thousands of current and former PSNI personnel are seeking compensation, with the potential bill currently estimated at being around £120m.

The Treasury has turned down a request for help.

The PSNI has admitted liability for the breach in August 2023, which involved the accidental release of a spreadsheet containing personal details of its entire 9,500 workforce.

The woman said she lived in her family home during officer training, but once completed, she moved to Belfast, stopped playing GAA and "removed some childhood friends from my life".

She said she had joined the PSNI just after the Real IRA shot dead two soldiers at Massereene Army base in Antrim in 2010 and her family was "immediately worried".

"I made up a cover story, moved away and didn't look back," she told the court.

In 2022, she explored moving to Australia and the following May she was offered a police officer job conditional upon her obtaining a visa.

By then, her partner had also joined the PSNI.

RB207 described herself as "a Catholic female officer in a gay marriage".

Three months later, the data breach occurred and she recalled being "upset, angry and scared", fearing the unusual spelling of her surname would lead to her identification.

Within days of the breach, there was a shooting incident close to her family home.

She said it involved dissident republicans firing shots at "sandbags and targets".

She reported it and in a police operation which followed, a person was arrested.

Her father was then approached at his home by an individual who told him he knew she had reported it and that her and her wife "were on the spreadsheet".

Her and her partner's names then appeared on a poster in a public place, along with her family's address.

The police warned her of a threat against her - known as a TM1 notice - and she described being in "turmoil" and becoming a recluse.

"I was just waiting for an attack... I couldn't sleep for more than two hours."

By then, having secured her visa and formally offered a job in Australia in October 2023, she decided it was time to quit the PSNI.

RB207 added: "When I made the decision to leave, I told my dad to mention it in the community to move the target off their backs.

"My dad started telling people in the shop I was going to Australia."

Days afterwards, she received a second TM1 threat notice.

She told the court the threat stated she should leave as soon as possible, the use of firearms could not be ruled out, and "if I didn't go my parents would be put into exile".

It was the "nail in the coffin" and she and her partner moved.

She said she could not stay and "risk my parents being killed".

She continued: "I'm still very angry towards the PSNI. It felt like we were left hung out to dry.

"My mood is still up and down. I still check the cameras on my parents' home even now. I blame the PSNI entirely for this."

The case continues.