Police launched reporter phone surveillance after MI5 agent murder

Operation Mally, involving Rowan, fell outside the review’s timeframe.

The operation was expanded into much broader checks for unauthorised contact between journalists’ phones and police phones.

Boutcher has ended the practice.

He also pointed out that since legislative change a decade ago, there has been no unlawful interference with any journalist’s phone data.

There will be further follow-up work undertaken by the McCullough Review.

Boutcher said: “Significant changes to practice and policy have been implemented since the defects in the 2007 Communications Data code were remedied by the Home Office in 2015.

“It has been noted by Mr McCullough KC that no further breaches of the code have been authorised since that time by PSNI.

“This reflects the efficacy of the oversight now explicit to these types of applications.”