I wrote to my MP when Sunday Tribune journalist Suzanne Breen was facing court action to make her hand over source material linked to stories she had written about the Real IRA.
My MP got this reply from Northern Ireland secretary Shaun Woodward, which has just been forwarded to me:"The freedom of the press is one of the cornerstones of democracy in Northern Ireland as it is throughout the United Kingdom and both British and European Courts have upheld the principle that journalists' sources should be protected in a number of cases.
"Equally the police have a duty to pursue the evidence to bring to justice those who have committed crimes, in this case double murder.
"Where there is a tension between the journalistic principle and the duty of the police it is for the courts to decide where the public interest lies. That is what happened in this case and Justice Burgess found in favour of Suzanne Breen."
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