JOURNALIST SUZANNE Breen could face a £25,000 legal bill following her successful resistance to the Police Service of Northern Ireland’s (PSNI) demand she hand over material about the Real IRA’s claim it had murdered two British soldiers.
Judge Tom Burgess told Belfast Recorder’s Court yesterday that costs were a purely discretionary matter for him, adding he would look again at the entirety of the evidence before giving his decision.
The PSNI opposed the application for costs by Ms Breen, Northern editor of the Sunday Tribune. National Union of Journalists (NUJ) Irish secretary Séamus Dooley expressed concern about the decision last night.
“It would be a travesty if she had to pay her costs, given that she won her case so comprehensively,” he said.
Ms Breen received the Real IRA’s admission of responsibility for the murders of two British soldiers who were shot dead at Massereene barracks, Co Antrim, last March.
The PSNI went to court seeking her mobile telephone, computer records and notes, claiming the material was of importance to the investigation into the shootings.
However, along with citing a threat to her life for any perceived collaboration with British forces, Ms Breen insisted she must protect her sources. Last June, Belfast Recorder’s Court ruled her right to life outweighed public interest in the prevention of crime.
At yesterday’s hearing, barrister Tony McGleenan said the PSNI Chief Constable was opposing Ms Breen’s application for costs which, it was accepted, was for the court’s discretion.
“This matter was brought quite properly in order to attempt to secure access to significant evidence relating to a double murder inquiry and injury to four other persons,” said Mr McGleenan. “The chief constable had no other alternative.”
