PSNI and Met police’s unlawful spying on journalists may be tip of the iceberg

Two investigative reporters put under surveillance say public inquiry is needed to uncover scale of operations

• PSNI and Met police unlawfully spied on two journalists, tribunal finds

After a tribunal ruled that two investigative journalists, Trevor Birney and Barry McCaffrey, were unlawfully spied upon in order to find out their sources, the pair were at pains to stress that they consider what was uncovered to be just the tip of the iceberg.

They believe the case highlights an endemic problem in the relationship between police and journalists across the UK, stretching far beyond Northern Ireland where they are based.