Warrants obtained by police to carry out raids on the homes and offices of two Belfast journalists are set to be quashed, the High Court ruled today.
Senior judges held that authorisation for the searches which led to the arrest of Trevor Birney and Barry McCaffrey had been inappropriate.
A further hearing on this week will determine whether documents seized in the operation should be returned.
The outcome represents a victory for Mr Birney and Mr McCaffrey in their challenge to the legality of warrants granted as part of an investigation into the alleged theft of confidential documents from the Northern Ireland Police Ombudsman’s Office.
Following a two-day hearing Lord Chief Justice Sir Declan Morgan confirmed: “We are minded to quash the warrants on the basis that they were inappropriate, whatever the other arguments.
“We are going to list the case at 2pm on Friday for a discussion on the question of remedy.”
The case is connected to the murders of six Catholic men at Loughinisland, Co Down in June 1994. UVF gunmen opened fire in a village pub as their victims watched a World Cup football match.
The investigative journalists were involved in the documentary film No Stone Unturned, which examined the Royal Ulster Constabulary’s handling of the Loughinisland atrocity.
In August last year they were detained, questioned and released during an operation undertaken by detectives from Durham Constabulary, supported by PSNI officers. Judicial review proceedings were brought in a bid to have the warrants declared unlawful.
All of the seized material remains under seal, with police having given an undertaking not to examine any of the documents and computer equipment pending the outcome of the legal action.