Catholic officers in the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) have sought advice on whether they should take a gun to Mass due to security fears following an unprecedented data leak, Westminster MPs have heard.
The chair of an organisation representing serving officers from a Catholic background told the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee that he had been approached by younger members after personal details of 10,000 PSNI members and staff were accidentally posted on the internet last month.
Supt Gerry Murray, who joined the RUC over 50 years ago and oversees the Catholic Police Guild of Northern Ireland, said one officer with a young family had recently resigned out of concern that he could be targeted by paramilitaries.
The PSNI has said it believes the data – which appeared online for over two hours in response to a Freedom of Information request – is “in the hands of dissident republicans”.
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“We’re coming from a position where policing for Catholics, whether it be for staff or police officers, is not in their DNA,” Mr Murray told MPs on Monday.
“When young Catholics join the police they’re know they’re leaving areas they’re not going back to. They’re divorced straightway from their backgrounds.
“Some haven’t even informed their families of what has happened with regards to the breach. Our members are frightened. I have had instances of young Catholic officers asking me if they should carry their personal protection weapons when they go to Mass.
“The advice I give is, ‘yes, you do’. The idea is that they should feel safe entering the Catholic Church and leaving the Catholic Church. And there’s no better way.”
The Westminster hearing into the big breach took place the morning after PSNI Chief Constable Simon Byrne resigned from his post.
Mr Byrne, who was due to give evidence to the scrutiny committee, had faced mounting pressure to step down after a series of controversies.
Committee chair Simon Hoare described the job as “probably the most difficult gig in policing” and that anyone who “steps up to the plate of Chief Constable” deserves recognition.
Mr Hoare also expressed disappointment that the Northern Ireland Policing Board, the oversight body which holds the PSNI to account, had failed to show.
The board has held four emergency meetings over the past month amid the policing crisis. All have been held in private, the MP Claire Hanna noted, saying that while the body was in “choppy waters”, she was concerned it has yet to be questioned on its role.
Mr Hoare responded: “We will hear from them. Whether we have to use our right to summon witnesses, which we can, or whether they can find a time voluntarily to appear before us.
“But the board should be in no doubt at all that they will appear before this committee to take our questions and will do so in public.”
Among the other policing representatives giving evidence was Liam Kelly, the head of the Police Federation, the body representing more than 6.500 rank and file PSNI officers, who described his members’ view of policing as being in “a dark place”.
“We’re in a downward spiral,” he added, and said the challenge was not only building “public confidence but officers’ confidence” and knowing that the PSNI’s senior management team “has their backs”.
Mr Kelly said it was the “right thing” for Mr Byrne to resign but expressed concerns about the role of the Dept Chief Constable, Mark Hamilton, confirming he had invited him to a federation executive meeting tomorrow.
“I’ll be candid here. Mr Hamilton, as deputy chief constable, is now the most senior officer in our service ... he is still vulnerable in my eyes in relation to whether he continues in service or not or has the confidence of our officers.”
During the evidence session, the committee heard that almost 4,000 PSNI officers and staff had now contacted a dedicated ‘Emergency Threat Assessment Group’ set up by the PSNI set up following the big data breach.
“I am deeply sorry this happened on my watch,” PSNI Assistant Chief Constable Chris Todd told MPs, who revealed that costs associated with the breach could reach an estimated €280 million in extra security for officers and potential legal action.
Staff sickness absence in the PSNI rose to around 800 a day in the week after the big data breach, Mr Todd added.
Tracey Godfrey of NIPSA, a trade union representing 2,500 civilian staff, outlined concerns among her members about “delays” within the Northern Ireland Office in signing off security measures for staff who asked for home protection.
President of the Police Superintendents’ Association of Northern Ireland (SANI), Anthony McNally, said the continuing fallout from the data breach would put further financial strain on the force as it tackles a multimillion pound budget deficit and “pause” on recruitment.
The senior police officer added that his colleagues were “deeply troubled” by the events of the past month and heightened security threat.
“The mood music is probably one of sadness,” he told MPs, “here we are 25 years on from the Good Friday Agreement and still checking under our cars,” he said.
