Loughinisland document theft investigation is a complete farce, declares journalist after PSNI meeting
A journalist arrested over the alleged theft of a document that appeared in his film on a notorious Troubles massacre has branded the ongoing investigation a “complete farce”.
Trevor Birney criticised the police as he and fellow documentary maker Barry McCaffrey were bailed from custody after failing to get the probe halted.
The award-winning reporters were arrested in August over the alleged theft of confidential material from the offices of Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland Dr Michael Maguire.
It is alleged the material appeared in their No Stone Unturned film on the 1994 loyalist massacre of six Catholic men in Loughinisland, Co Down.
The reporters returned for pre-arranged meetings with officers in Belfast yesterday, where their lawyers argued that the investigation should be stopped.
Dr Maguire’s office had denied ever making a complaint of theft against the men.
Police rejected the application, bailing the men to return to face further questions next March.
“Ultimately I think that today has just been a complete farce,” Mr Birney said.
“I think this is quite clearly punitive and an attempt to try to restrict both myself and Barry and the work that we are trying to do and I think it’s just been another very frustrating day, not only for ourselves but for all our colleagues and for those we are trying to work for.”
Six men were killed when UVF gunmen opened fire inside the Heights Bar in Loughinisland in June 1994.
The 2017 documentary by Mr Birney and Mr McCaffrey named those it said were suspects.
In a landmark report in 2016, Dr Maguire concluded that the security forces colluded with the Loughinisland killers.
The PSNI, concerned about conflict of interest issues, asked Durham Constabulary to probe the alleged theft of the document.
Durham’s chief constable Mike Barton and the Ombudsman are currently at odds over whether a crime was actually reported to police.