PSNI data breach: Half of police officers push for damages

Nearly fractional of Northern Ireland's constabulary officers person contacted the Police Federation astir a imaginable damages lawsuit aft wide information leak.

The 3,000 officers were among almost 11,000 people whose identities and spot of enactment were revealed by mistake by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI).

All are apt to beryllium successful enactment for immoderate signifier of compensation.

It is thought the measure could tally into tens of millions of pounds.

Nearly 2 1000 officers and enactment unit person flagged up idiosyncratic information concerns caused by the leak.

On Monday, it emerged a papers with redacted accusation regarding the information breach had appeared connected a partition facing a Sinn Féin bureau connected the Falls Road successful Belfast.

It was posted overnight alongside a photograph of Sinn Féin's policing spokesperson, Gerry Kelly and a threatening message.

The names of the officers had been removed.

"This is simply a precise evident effort by dissident republicans to intimidate me," Mr Kelly said.

"Even much sinister, this is simply a precise nationalist denotation that the dissidents bash person entree to the delicate accusation successful the information leak document, it and truthful represents a precise existent menace to the officers and the civilian unit involved. "

It is understood immoderate PSNI employees person expressed interest astir continuing to enactment wherever they are presently based.

A fig person spoken anonymously to BBC News NI astir their information fears pursuing the information breach.

One PSNI enactment idiosyncratic said helium nary longer feels harmless successful his home.

The antheral said helium had made changes to his regular beingness and nary longer attended his child's Gaelic shot training.

Before the leak helium had taken steps to conceal his profession, helium said.

The worker, who is based extracurricular Belfast, said galore of his colleagues were successful "extreme panic", particularly those with unsocial surnames.

He said immoderate are nary longer travelling to enactment successful their ain vehicles and galore person changed their names connected societal media oregon deleted their accounts entirely.

He told BBC News NI helium is alert of 2 PSNI employees actively seeking caller employment arsenic a nonstop effect of the breach.

"It has brought connected a level of panic that hasn't been astir successful a batch of years", the civilian idiosyncratic said.

Details released see the surname and archetypal first of each employee, their fertile oregon grade, wherever they are based and the portion they enactment in, which includes delicate areas specified arsenic surveillance and intelligence.

The PSNI's main constable has apologised for what helium described arsenic an "industrial-scale breach" of idiosyncratic data.

Meanwhile, it emerged connected Saturday that 200 officers and unit were not informed of the theft of idiosyncratic data from a superintendent's car for a period aft it was stolen.

A papers containing the names of officers and unit was taken on with a police-issue laptop connected 6 July.

BBC News NI understands that what happened during the weeks earlier 4 August, erstwhile unit and officers were told of the breach, is being urgently reviewed.

Police said the quality of the missing information had to beryllium confirmed.

The Superintendents' Association of Northern Ireland (SANI) confirmed 1 of its members was involved.