Former BBC journalist Vincent Kearney believes that the PSNI “may have attempted to identify sources of information” related to an episode of Spotlight focusing on the Office of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland.

In a statement, the BBC said: “We have instructed lawyers to write to the Investigatory Powers tribunal about the alleged PSNI surveillance of telephone data linked to the work of Vincent Kearney during his employment with the BBC.

“We think serious issues of public interest are involved, including in relation to the adverse effects that surveillance may have on journalistic investigations and freedoms.”

The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) has called for “a fully inquiry into his matter”, which emerged during separate IPT proceedings involving investigative journalists Trevor Birney and Barry McCaffrey.

“Coming on the back of revelations about the unlawful surveillance of journalists Barry McCaffrey and Trevor Birney, the BBC’s decision to pursue this issue about their former employer is very welcome,” NUJ assistant general secretary Séamus Dooley said.

“The Spotlight team’s legacy of public interest journalism is built on diligent research, fearless reporting, and a rare ability to shine a light into the murky corners in the most difficult of circumstances.”

Mr Kearney said: “Journalists must be free to carry out their work without fear that the police may secretly try to identify sources and I’m determined to find out what happened.”

The BBC’s intervention has also been welcomed by Amnesty International and the Committee on the Administration of Justice (CAJ).

Patrick Corrigan, Amnesty’s Northern Ireland director, said: “We are extremely concerned that the revelations to date in [Birney and McCaffrey’s case] point to a much wider pattern of covert police surveillance of journalists and other human rights defenders.

“We urge other journalists and media outlets to make complaints to the Tribunal if they are concerned of secret surveillance by the PSNI.”

Daniel Holder, director of CAJ, added: “This issue of the extent and lawfulness of PSNI surveillance on journalists, lawyers and potentially other members of civil society really needs nailed now. Full accountability for these practices in the recent past is the only way of ensuring they do not continue to happen.”