Naomi Long

An unprecedented data breach in August 2023 saw the names, roles and other personal details of all serving police officers and civilian staff inadvertently published on the PSNI’s own website.

A public court list was temporarily taken offline from Tuesday evening to Wednesday morning after concerns were raised that it included the full names of some of those taking legal action related to the breach.

The publication has been incorrectly described as a data breach in some media reports and social media posts.

“There has been absolutely no data breach by my department,” justice minister Naomi Long said in a statement yesterday. “Publishing court lists is a routine process, and no data has been released in error.

“It is well known that court details, other than those relating to family proceedings, are routinely listed publicly online.

“The exception to this is when a request for anonymity is made to a judge. That request would be made by a legal representative or parties to proceedings.

“It is only a judge that can grant that anonymity and it is only a legal representative that can make the request.

“Staff in the NI Courts and Tribunals Service have no authority or legal standing to make such a request, let alone a decision of that nature.

“To suggest otherwise is misleading and completely false.”

The decision to temporarily remove the court list from the Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service website “was a precautionary measure and was not because an error had been made”, she added.

“I hope this clarifies the situation and puts an end to online speculation and misreporting.”

Earlier in the week, the PSNI made a universal offer of £7,500 in compensation to all those affected by the 2023 data breach.