Motion text
That this House welcomes the clear and unambiguous ruling of the Lord Chief Justice in the case of journalists Barry McCaffrey and Trevor Birney, whose arrests for their role in making the award-winning documentary No Stone Unturned about the Loughinsland massacre were judge to be unlawful; notes that the arrests were carried out by Durham Constabulary at the behest of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) on warrants issued outside the correct legal framework; further welcomes the recent unreserved apology made to the two journalists by the PSNI, which committed to reviewing the legal judgement to learn all appropriate lessons; believes that not only were the unlawful arrests a cause of distress, the position of the police since the illegal detentions has had a devastating impact on those two NUJ members; notes that the PSNI still retains a vast amount of journalistic material despite the issue of the court order; calls on the Chief Constable to demonstrate the sincerity of the apology by bringing to an end this shameful episode by arranging the immediate return of all material seized or copied; and further calls on the PSNI to act on the information contained in No Stone Unturrned to ensure that justice is delivered for the families of the Loughinisland victims.
Signatures (15)
The first 6 Members who have signed to support the motion are the sponsors. The primary sponsor is generally the person who tabled the motion and has responsibility for it. The date shown is when the Member signed the motion.
Morris, Grahame
Labour
Signed on
17 July 2020
Burgon, Richard
Labour
Signed on
17 July 2020
Mearns, Ian
Labour
Signed on
17 July 2020
McDonnell, John
Labour
Signed on
17 July 2020
Barker, Paula
Labour
Signed on
17 July 2020
Byrne, Ian
Labour
Signed on
17 July 2020
In addition to the sponsors, the following Members have signed to support the motion.
Begum, Apsana
Labour
Signed on
17 July 2020
Whitley, Mick
Labour
Signed on
21 July 2020
Stephens, Chris
Scottish National Party
Signed on
21 July 2020
Hanna, Claire
Social Democratic & Labour Party
Signed on
21 July 2020
Eastwood, Colum
Social Democratic & Labour Party
Signed on
21 July 2020
Farry, Stephen
Alliance
Signed on
21 July 2020
Gwynne, Andrew
Labour
Signed on
1 September 2020
Hill, Mike
Labour
Signed on
1 September 2020
Russell-Moyle, Lloyd
Labour
Signed on
15 September 2020
There are no withdrawn signatures for this motion.