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Anthony McIntyre thinks PSNI boss, Simon Byrne, needs to first clean up his own force's act if he is to be taken seriously about vigorously pursuing those who threaten journalists.
 
It was hard not to raise a quizzical eyebrow when in February PSNI boss Simon Byrne vowed to deploy "vigorous action" in pursuit of those who seek to intimidate journalists in the North.

The phenomenon has been on the rise with more journalists reporting that they have been on the receiving end of intimidation. SDLP South Belfast MLA Matthew O'Toole, who heads up the newly formed Stormont MLAs Northern Ireland Assembly All-Party Group (APG) on Press Freedom and Media Sustainability, said:

In a democracy the freedom of the press is a fundamental and non-negotiable principle, but in Northern Ireland threat and intimidation of journalists has become normalised.

One reason behind the normalisation is to be found in the hostile attitude towards journalism displayed by the body that Simon Byrne heads up. Its own nefarious actions been wholly corrosive of journalistic integrity and freedom to investigate. Prior to his watch - for which he bears no individual responsibility - the PSNI pursued with a vengeance journalists investigating the role of state actors in Britain's Dirty War in Ireland. 

This manifested itself in house raids, arrests and seizure of material. The PSNI assault on journalists Trevor Birney and Barry McCaffrey in a failed attempt to convict the duo, was for the purpose of intimidating journalists out of plying their trade, more specifically to derail investigations into loyalist killings that were carried out with a large measure of state connivance.

Those behind the recent threats might have been using their muscle in a different way but the combined effect was a legal and extra-legal pincer movement. Collusion was hardly a factor but there was certainly common purpose: to create a culture of contempt towards the work of journalists so that the confidence to maintain the cutting edge of their reporting would be undermined. A warning to look the other way or else.

There was no rule of law at play in the action against Birney and McCaffrey, just the rule of law enforcement. Now the same law enforcement agency is asking the public to have confidence in it supposedly going after its "partner in crime" for coming at journalists from a different direction. 

The MLA group mentioned above is also said to be seeking clarity on how the PSNI is dealing with the increasing level of threat. Its Vice-Chair Mike Nesbitt – a former television journalist journalist – made the telling observation:

It would appear from evidence from the NUJ that police forces in Great Britain have had greater success against individuals who have threatened journalists than is the case here.

Should that surprise us? The PSNI has never shown the same vigour when in pursuit of those who threaten journalists as it has towards those who threaten the narrative that the PSNI has sought to protect in relation to the history of Dirty War collusion. Martin O'Hagan's killers have never been prosecuted and the thug who threatened to rape the baby of Patricia Devlin has never been subjected to any attempt to apprehend him. In both cases there is a strong suspicion that agents are to be protected before journalists.

On past form, there is more to suggest that the PSNI will seek to vigorously evade accountability than to vigorously pursue those threatening the North's journalists. 

⏩Follow on Twitter @AnthonyMcIntyre.

Common Purpose

Anthony McIntyre thinks PSNI boss, Simon Byrne, needs to first clean up his own force's act if he is to be taken seriously about vigorously pursuing those who threaten journalists.
 
It was hard not to raise a quizzical eyebrow when in February PSNI boss Simon Byrne vowed to deploy "vigorous action" in pursuit of those who seek to intimidate journalists in the North.

The phenomenon has been on the rise with more journalists reporting that they have been on the receiving end of intimidation. SDLP South Belfast MLA Matthew O'Toole, who heads up the newly formed Stormont MLAs Northern Ireland Assembly All-Party Group (APG) on Press Freedom and Media Sustainability, said:

In a democracy the freedom of the press is a fundamental and non-negotiable principle, but in Northern Ireland threat and intimidation of journalists has become normalised.

One reason behind the normalisation is to be found in the hostile attitude towards journalism displayed by the body that Simon Byrne heads up. Its own nefarious actions been wholly corrosive of journalistic integrity and freedom to investigate. Prior to his watch - for which he bears no individual responsibility - the PSNI pursued with a vengeance journalists investigating the role of state actors in Britain's Dirty War in Ireland. 

This manifested itself in house raids, arrests and seizure of material. The PSNI assault on journalists Trevor Birney and Barry McCaffrey in a failed attempt to convict the duo, was for the purpose of intimidating journalists out of plying their trade, more specifically to derail investigations into loyalist killings that were carried out with a large measure of state connivance.

Those behind the recent threats might have been using their muscle in a different way but the combined effect was a legal and extra-legal pincer movement. Collusion was hardly a factor but there was certainly common purpose: to create a culture of contempt towards the work of journalists so that the confidence to maintain the cutting edge of their reporting would be undermined. A warning to look the other way or else.

There was no rule of law at play in the action against Birney and McCaffrey, just the rule of law enforcement. Now the same law enforcement agency is asking the public to have confidence in it supposedly going after its "partner in crime" for coming at journalists from a different direction. 

The MLA group mentioned above is also said to be seeking clarity on how the PSNI is dealing with the increasing level of threat. Its Vice-Chair Mike Nesbitt – a former television journalist journalist – made the telling observation:

It would appear from evidence from the NUJ that police forces in Great Britain have had greater success against individuals who have threatened journalists than is the case here.

Should that surprise us? The PSNI has never shown the same vigour when in pursuit of those who threaten journalists as it has towards those who threaten the narrative that the PSNI has sought to protect in relation to the history of Dirty War collusion. Martin O'Hagan's killers have never been prosecuted and the thug who threatened to rape the baby of Patricia Devlin has never been subjected to any attempt to apprehend him. In both cases there is a strong suspicion that agents are to be protected before journalists.

On past form, there is more to suggest that the PSNI will seek to vigorously evade accountability than to vigorously pursue those threatening the North's journalists. 

⏩Follow on Twitter @AnthonyMcIntyre.

Anthony McIntyre Journalists Under Threat

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