Not sure how seriously to take this one, since the legal complications it might invoke would probably rule it out from any serious consideration. But on the eve of the publication of a major report from Stormont’s Public Accounts Committee, Slugger understands that some members of the PAC have been suggesting that the phone records of its members should be investigated in order to source the leak of an earlier draft version of that report to UTV on the goings on at Northern Ireland Water.
Hmmm… Aside from any issues of data protection, given what we know of the poor quality of the information being tracked into the Committee from Government, the disclosure of phone records would substantially shut down the capacity of Committee members to receive information from third party sources. In fact it would be closed off almost completely.
Perhaps that was the intention?
Mick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Twitter: @MickFealty
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