Kevin Winters

Mr Winters, of KRW LAW, has been instructed by a number of individuals, including retired gardaí, who allege they were defamed by the user, identified only as “Malachy O”.

The posts, which were made in May and June 2023 and have since been deleted along with the entire account, targeted ex-Garda whistleblowers and others who were highly critical of alleged Garda wrongdoing.

Mr Winters said his clients, based in the Republic of Ireland, believe the “Malachy O” account was controlled by someone connected to An Garda Síochána.

A court yesterday granted a Norwich Pharmacal order directing Twitter International Unlimited Company, the Irish subsidiary of X, to release data to KRW LAW which could identify the account holder.

Mr Winters said: “We hope the outworkings of this order will now allow our clients to issue defamation proceedings over derogatory postings made two years ago.

“Using anonymous social media accounts to mount reputational attacks is a coward’s charter. In certain cases, the courts can intervene to act as a bulwark against that happening.

“We are positive that will be the case here.”