More than £40m paid to officers and staff over PSNI data breach
More than £40 million in compensation has been paid to police officers and staff affected by the 2023 Police Service of Northern Ireland data breach, according to a Belfast law firm representing thousands of claimants.
Edwards Solicitors said more than 5,000 current and former officers and staff received compensation payments of £7,500 after accepting a “Universal Offer” settlement made by the PSNI.
The firm said payments were made last Friday and Monday after compensation funds were received.
Several hundred additional claims remain ongoing from individuals who chose not to accept the settlement offer.
The breach, which occurred in August 2023, saw the names, ranks and roles of police officers and staff mistakenly disclosed in response to a Freedom of Information request, prompting significant security concerns.
Philip Gordon, partner and head of litigation at Edwards Solicitors, described the case as one of the most significant group action settlements achieved by a law firm in Northern Ireland and “possibly the United Kingdom”.
Solicitor Rachel Powderly said the scale and complexity of the litigation had been unprecedented.
She said the firm had dealt with more than 5,000 clients and argued that resolving claims individually “was neither realistic nor practical”.
Powderly said the £7,500 settlement figure had been accepted as “fair and reasonable for the majority of those affected”, reflecting the seriousness of the breach and the sensitivity of the information disclosed.
The PSNI breach triggered major concern across policing and government due to the potential threat posed to officers and staff, particularly those involved in covert or intelligence-related roles.
The Chair of the Police Federation of Northern Ireland, Liam Kelly, welcomed the payment. “I’m grateful to all who invested time and effort in agreeing the scale of compensation and the speedy manner in which payment was delivered. I particularly welcome the fact that the PSNI made a universal offer that greatly helped to accelerate payment.
“This will come as enormous relief to thousands of colleagues who had the worry of personal security for themselves and their loved ones.”
The PSNI said that as legal proceedings were still ongoing, it would not be appropriate for them to comment.