A former British Telecom operator used his computer code to hack into the phone accounts of the RUC's Chief Constable, Mr Ronnie Flanagan, and a senior Crown lawyer, Mr John Creaney, a Belfast court heard yesterday. It is alleged that Mr Paul Edwards (33), of Glencolin Way, Belfast, was able to collect details on over 200 calls made by the men in May and June 1996.
"The Crown case will be that Edwards accessed the accounts and did so over a period, in considerable detail to such an extent that the court will be clear that it was for a sinister purpose," claimed counsel for the Crown, Mr Gordon Kerr. The trial continues today.