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Former garda press officer had over 11,000 thousand contacts with journalists

Summary

In 2014, former Garda press officer David Taylor was found to have made over 11,000 contacts with journalists between September and December, with 2,800 (24 %) involving Irish Sun reporter Eavan Murray. Chief Superintendent Francis Clerkin, who led the inquiry, said Taylor had been instructed to brief journalists negatively about whistleblower Sergeant Maurice McCabe and had also forwarded "Critical Incident Reports" to his personal email. The investigation revealed that Taylor had deleted a large proportion of messages from his phone and personal account, and that a second mobile phone and laptop were seized in February 2015. Taylor was arrested in April 2015 and a file was sent to the DPP recommending prosecution for unlawful disclosure, but the DPP later decided not to prosecute. The tribunal concluded its hearing on the matter in February 2016, with no further disciplinary action taken.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Former garda press officer had over 11,000 thousand contacts with journalists. Procedural stage: hearing_or_decision

When:

• September 2014 Other
• December 2014 Incident
• October 2013 Other
• February 2015 Incident
• April 2015 Incident
• August 4, 2015 Incident
• August 2016 Incident
• February 2017 Other
• 2018-05-08 Publication

Places mentioned

Topics

Stage Hearing Or Decision

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Read the original CNI report