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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Journalist makes Police Scotland spying claim | Journalist makes Police Scotland spying claim |
| (34 minutes later) | |
| An investigative journalist has told BBC Scotland he believes Police Scotland may have been monitoring his communications illegally. | An investigative journalist has told BBC Scotland he believes Police Scotland may have been monitoring his communications illegally. |
| Eamon O Connor said a police source informed him he was being targeted as he investigated the unsolved murder of Emma Caldwell. | Eamon O Connor said a police source informed him he was being targeted as he investigated the unsolved murder of Emma Caldwell. |
| Mr O Connor presented a BBC programme earlier this year examining what went wrong with the police investigation into the 10-year-old case. | Mr O Connor presented a BBC programme earlier this year examining what went wrong with the police investigation into the 10-year-old case. |
| Police Scotland did not deny his claim. | Police Scotland did not deny his claim. |
| But the force said it did not comment on individual cases. | But the force said it did not comment on individual cases. |
| It emerged last month that two un-named UK police forces had been involved in spying on journalists and their sources. | It emerged last month that two un-named UK police forces had been involved in spying on journalists and their sources. |
| 'Dependable source' | 'Dependable source' |
| The Sunday Herald newspaper claimed at the weekend that Police Scotland was one of them, and that the force's Counter Corruption Unit used spying powers to uncover a journalist's sources without getting judicial approval. | The Sunday Herald newspaper claimed at the weekend that Police Scotland was one of them, and that the force's Counter Corruption Unit used spying powers to uncover a journalist's sources without getting judicial approval. |
| Mr O Connor told the BBC's Scotland 2015 programme that he did not know for sure that he had been monitored | Mr O Connor told the BBC's Scotland 2015 programme that he did not know for sure that he had been monitored |
| But he added: "Recently I was contacted by a very dependable source who knows Police Scotland very well and he warned me that he had been told explicitly that the Counter Corruption Unit, which is designed to catch police doing things they shouldn't do, has been monitoring journalists' communications with police sources for some time. | But he added: "Recently I was contacted by a very dependable source who knows Police Scotland very well and he warned me that he had been told explicitly that the Counter Corruption Unit, which is designed to catch police doing things they shouldn't do, has been monitoring journalists' communications with police sources for some time. |
| "He believed that I had been one of those people targeted and more significantly he thought I had been targeted without judicial approval. | "He believed that I had been one of those people targeted and more significantly he thought I had been targeted without judicial approval. |
| "I can only assume that (my BBC investigation) has caused some concern inside Police Scotland. I know that it has because I've had contact from senior sources inside Police Scotland, but I don't know if anyone inside Police Scotland has been so concerned that they've decided to monitor my communications to see who I've been speaking to." | "I can only assume that (my BBC investigation) has caused some concern inside Police Scotland. I know that it has because I've had contact from senior sources inside Police Scotland, but I don't know if anyone inside Police Scotland has been so concerned that they've decided to monitor my communications to see who I've been speaking to." |
| Reserved matter | Reserved matter |
| Emma Caldwell's body was found dumped in a ditch in Lanarkshire in May 2005. Police launched a massive murder investigation which has cost £4m, but no one has ever been convicted of her murder. | |
| Four Turkish men were charged over Ms Caldwell's death, but were later released and did not stand trial. | |
| Labour lodged an emergency motion at the Scottish Parliament on Wednesday calling for "full transparency" from Scottish government ministers over what they knew about the allegations that Police Scotland had spied on journalists. | Labour lodged an emergency motion at the Scottish Parliament on Wednesday calling for "full transparency" from Scottish government ministers over what they knew about the allegations that Police Scotland had spied on journalists. |
| The Scottish government has said obtaining communications data is a matter reserved to the UK government. | The Scottish government has said obtaining communications data is a matter reserved to the UK government. |