Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, with reference to figure 19.6 of the Investigatory Powers Commissioner’s Office’s annual report 2022, published on 26 March 2024, if he will hold discussions with the Department of Justice in Northern Ireland on the potential merits of launching a public inquiry on the alleged surveillance of journalists in Northern Ireland.

Figure 19.6 of the Investigatory Powers Commissioner’s Office’s annual report 2022 refers to statistics for communications data authorisations involving members of a sensitive profession between 2018 and 2022. These are statistics for the whole of the UK, not specific to Northern Ireland.

Oversight of the use of Investigatory Powers is provided by the Investigatory Powers Commissioner’s Office who ensure that such use is necessary and proportionate, and used in accordance with the law.

There are ongoing Investigatory Powers Tribunal proceedings in relation to the alleged surveillance of journalists in Northern Ireland. As such it would be inappropriate to comment further or to consider other routes of investigation until those proceedings have concluded.