Police officer names published on courts website

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) has confirmed that some officers who had their names published in a data breach in 2023 have now had their names published on the NI Courts website.

The Department of Justice (DoJ) said it took immediate action and removed the online public court list as a precautionary measure.

The officers have been pursuing compensation claims against the PSNI over the data breach.

The PSNI said the names were supplied "by the legal representatives" of those taking cases. It is understood to involve dozens of officers.

Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) leader Jon Burrows said it was "extremely concerning" that names were published on Tuesday evening.

Burrows, a former police officer, told the Stephen Nolan Show that 41 officers were named on the NI Courts website.

"It's out there on WhatsApp. It's going around virally," he said.

"Whenever you receive the message now, it says on it, forwarded many times. And we need to find out how that's happened and what lessons can be learned."

He has submitted an urgent oral question to the Stormont speaker's office to discuss the situation on Monday.

Burrows said Justice Minister Naomi Long should explain exactly what happened.

He added: "This latest incident only heightens the need for robust safeguards to protect those who serve and their families."

The chair of the Police Federation for Northern Ireland, Liam Kelly, said that "publishing the names of officers on the court list appears to be another avoidable and embarrassing error".

"The list has now been taken down but questions must be asked how this happened," he added.

Kelly said those mentioned on the court list "deserve answers".

He added that it is "a matter of considerable concern that claimants' names have been further published and, like this federation, they will be demanding some clarity and answers".

First Minister Michelle O'Neill said the PSNI "have homework to do" and that it needs to ensure officers' information is protected.

"The details are still to be unfolded I think in terms of what it means - is it a data breach, or what or how it's happened, so I think we just need to do a bit more digging into that," she said.

She added Stormont "cannot be in another situation where we have to find money out of public funds to rectify a mistake that was made at a PSNI level".

In a statement, the DoJ said court details, other than those relating to family proceedings, are "routinely listed publicly online unless an application is made to the court for anonymity".

"The NI Courts and Tribunals Service has no authority to grant anonymity," it said.

"This is a matter for the court and applications to the court are the responsibility of the legal representative or parties to proceedings.

"As a precautionary measure, the department took immediate action and made the decision to have Public Court Lists Online taken down from approximately 8.30pm on the evening of 3 February 2026 until 6am on 4 February 2026, when lists / details were refreshed."

Due to the security situation in Northern Ireland, many officers especially from nationalist communities, keep their employment secret, in some cases even from many family members.

In response to a Freedom of Information (FoI) request in August 2023, the PSNI shared names of all its almost 10,000 staff, including police and civilian personnel, where they were based and their roles.

The details were then published online, before being removed.

The PSNI apologised for the error. Those affected by the data breach have now been made "a universal offer" of £7,500 each in compensation after Stormont agreed to ring fence £119m to settle claims for damages in December.

Here we have 41 police officers who are taking action over a data breach, the publication of their names on a website in 2023, having their names published again by what looks to have been an error.

It is certainly something of an embarrassment given the context.

I've seen the list, which simply contains the officers name versus the PSNI, it is 41 names, but does not include ranks or anything to really indicate that they are police officers.

So, I could see how some are saying "if you saw the list you wouldn't automatically assume that these are police officers".

The DoJ took down the website and the names have been removed but is not clear how long they were online and how many people viewed them.