As reported by the Police Service of Northern Ireland, Simon Byrne “has resigned as chief constable.”Written by Rory Tingle, Mailonline’s Home Affairs Correspondent 4 September 2023, 10:32:32 EDT
Northern Ireland’s police chief resigned today after a string of missteps, including a large data leak that put his officers in danger from paramilitaries.In an effort to prevent Sinn Fein from withdrawing its support for the Police Service of Northern Ireland, Simon Byrne was found by the High Court last week to have wrongfully reprimanded two police officers who were policing a Troubles memorial event.After a massive data leak exposed the identities of 10,000 officers and personnel at PSNI, Mr. Byrne was already under pressure to resign.
The information has presumably been obtained by rebel republican groups.On Friday night, Democratic Unionist Party leader Jeffrey Donaldson presented a vote of no confidence to the Northern Ireland Policing Board. Today, during an unexpected board meeting, the members accepted Mr. Byrne’s resignation.
Concerns have been raised for the safety of police officers in Northern Ireland following the massive data leak that hit the PSNI last month.Last week, it suffered the largest data breach in its history when it exposed the personal information of 10,000 of its employees.Up to three hours of data were exposed due to the data breach.Every employee’s last name and initial, their position or grade, their location, and the department they work in (including secretive ones like surveillance and intelligence) were all revealed.
A spreadsheet including the identities of over 200 police and staff members was stolen last month, and the next day PSNI revealed it was investigating a second data breach.More than 300 police officers from a variety of backgrounds were killed during the 30 years of bloodshed in Northern Ireland known as the Troubles.Now that the leak has been discovered, the Police Federation of Northern Ireland (PFNI) is drafting a legal lawsuit that might result in millions of pounds in damages.
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