Two Northern Ireland journalists who were arrested in Belfast this morning by police investigating the alleged theft of documents have been released from custody.
Trevor Birney, 51, and Barry McCaffrey, 48, were involved in a documentary about the murders of six men in a Loughinisland bar in 1994.
The film investigated alleged state collusion with the Loyalist gang involved in the killings.
After the documentary was screened last year officers from Durham police were called in to investigate the alleged theft of documents from the office of Northern Ireland’s police ombudsman.
The material, which police say featured in a documentary about the 1994 murders, had been in the possession of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland.
A police spokesman claimed the theft of the documents "potentially puts lives at risk".
Ombudsman officers reported the theft to the PSNI.
The PSNI then asked Durham Police to conduct an independent investigation into the theft.
The arrests came this morning after detectives, supported by PSNI officers, searched three properties in the Belfast area.
These included two residential properties and a business premises.
A spokesman for Durham Constabulary described the investigation as "complex".
Six people were killed on 18 June 1994 when loyalist gunmen burst into a bar in Loughinisland, Co Down, and opened fire on customers.
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The UVF struck as football fans watched the Republic of Ireland team play in the 1994 World Cup.
In 2011, the Police Ombudsman found there had been major failings in the police investigation following the shootings, but said there was no evidence that police had colluded with the UVF.
However, in 2016, a new Ombudsman report found there had been collusion, and the police investigation had been undermined by a desire to protect informers.
In 2017, a documentary, No Stone Unturned, named the main suspects.
Spokesperson for the Loughinisland families, Clare Rogan said: "Our families and many other families across the island, some of whom have been denied the basic right to an inquest, have campaigned for many years against state collusion and for truth and justice for our loved ones.
"These actions are the latest attempt to deter the work of families and journalists who seek to shine the light on the dark levels of collusion at the heart of the British state."
The families held a vigil outside the Heights Bar in Loughinisland tonight in support of the two journalists.
The National Union of Journalists has expressed "grave concern" at this morning’s arrests.
Seamus Dooley, Acting General Secretary, NUJ UK and Ireland, said; "The protection of journalistic sources of confidential information is of vital importance and journalists must be free to operate in the public interest without police interference. These journalists are entitled to claim journalistic privilege and to seek the protection of the legal system if there is any attempt to force them to reveal sources."
Mr Dooley said every step must be taken to ensure that data held on computers that have been seized is not compromised and that the confidentiality of sources is not put in jeopardy.
He added that it was profoundly depressing that priority appears to be given to tracking down the source of journalistic stories rather than solving murders in Northern Ireland.
Additional reporting: PA
