'I sat with my gun beside me at home after data breach', says officer

A serving officer has said he sat with a gun beside him at home as he feared for his safety after his name was included in a Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) data breach.

Thousands of PSNI staff, including police and civilian personnel, had their names shared within a Freedom of Information (FOI) response which was posted online in 2023.

The names of some officers were published again on the NI Courts website on Wednesday, before being removed by the Department of Justice.

John, not his real name, said that publication took him back to 2023: "I sat at home with my gun beside me on the sofa listening for those sounds, movements, wondering are they gonna start looking for me?"

Speaking to Nolan Live, John said he had previously moved station and house after dealing with dissident republicans on "a weekly basis".

"They started to make [it] known that they knew me, my name, graffiti went up of me... photos of me posted online... comments made."

He was then advised that there was "an aspiration" for dissident republicans to learn more about him.

He moved after deciding it "wasn't worth the risk" to his family if he had stayed.

He said he was starting to feel "content and safe at home" when the data breach happened.

The names of 41 PSNI officers were published again on the NI Courts website on Wednesday.

Justice Minister Naomi Long has said there was "no mistake" made by the Department of Justice (DoJ) which took immediate action and removed the online public court list as a precautionary measure.

She said the granting of anonymity is a "judicial function" which "must be applied for by the legal representatives of those attending court".

The minister said the decision to temporarily remove online court listings was taken as a "precautionary measure" after concerns were raised.

"We didn't do it because we had made a mistake - we made no mistake," the Alliance Party leader told Stormont's justice committee on Thursday.

"The 41 officers listed on the court website had not sought and were not granted anonymity - that's a legal fact."

Long said that court details are "routinely" listed publicly online unless an application is made to the court for anonymity.

"It is the responsibility of the legal representative or parties to proceedings to make such applications," she said.

The officers have been pursuing compensation claims against the PSNI over the data breach.

The PSNI said the names were supplied "by the legal representatives" of those taking cases. It is understood to involve dozens of officers.

Chief constable Jon Boutcher said the naming of the 41 officers was not as a result of any failure by the PSNI.

He described the episode as "unfortunate and unnecessary".

Boutcher told the Northern Ireland Policing Board that he hoped the officers who were named have not been "too distressed" by what happened.

He said it was not a data breach and the publication of names of court lists is routine, unless an anonymity order is in place.

Due to the security situation in Northern Ireland, many officers especially from nationalist communities, keep their employment secret, in some cases even from many family members.

In response to a Freedom of Information (FoI) request in August 2023, the PSNI shared names of all its almost 10,000 staff, including police and civilian personnel, where they were based and their roles.

The details were then published online, before being removed.

The PSNI apologised for the error and those affected by the data breach have now been made "a universal offer" of £7,500 each in compensation after Stormont agreed to ring fence £119m to settle claims for damages in December.

Speaking about the offer of compensation John said everyone should not get the same amount because of differing roles within the PSNI.

"I would be deemed right at the lowest level, I'd bite your hand off," he said.

"At the other end of that scale, people who have had to quit their job, people who have had to move with children... that £7,500 wouldn't split the sides for them.

"For a lot of people out there it's scarce recompense for what they've gone through."