A POLICE force has again admitted seizing telephone data from journalists in an attempt to find the source of damaging media reports.

In the latest scandal to beset Cleveland Police, the force has written to a reporter from The Northern Echo and two members of staff from the Press Association (PA), to apologise for using Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) authorisations to track calls and texts.

APOLOGY: Chief Constable has written a letter of apology to reporters

The Northern Echo’s Graeme Hetherington, along with Tom Wilkinson and Owen Humphreys, had data seized following a report of the resignation of the force’s finance officer Ann Hall in July 2013.

At the time the Independent Police Complaints Commission said it was “completely unacceptable” for Ann Hall, the assistant chief officer, to quit ahead of a disciplinary hearing for alleged misconduct.

In January the force apologised to Mr Hetherington and his colleague Julia Breen for monitoring their phones in 2012 in a bid to unearth their sources following other critical stories about Cleveland Police conduct.

Chief Constable Iain Spittal has sent letters of apology as a result of the latest details to emerge from the force’s investigation into unlawful use of RIPA.

Mr Spittal had just been appointed as the force’s Deputy Chief Constable a matter of weeks before the latest unlawful data seizure was approved.

He said on Friday: “Following a ruling by the Investigatory Powers Tribunal earlier this year that in 2012 Cleveland Police had, in a small number of instances, used Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) authorisations unlawfully the force launched a review of all such authorisations dating back to that time.

“As part of this ongoing work we’ve found three additional instances of RIPA being used on journalists, two from PA and one from the Northern Echo, in 2013 in what was a disproportionate manner. When such evidence is found we will, as we have here, contact those affected and give them full details. We will also, as we have here, offer our full apologies.”

In December, the Investigatory Powers Tribunal in London heard that the force was motivated to find the source of damaging leaks.

The force had pored through more than a million minutes of the phone records of former temporary inspector Mark Dias, former chairman of Cleveland Police Federation Steve Matthews, and solicitor Alan Samuels, as well as reporters, to discover the source.

As a result of the IPT ruling, a review of the force’s use of the RIPA legislation was ordered while its professional standards department was scrapped following stinging criticism from the panel of High Court judges.

The original applications, signed off by the force’s current head of crime, Superintendent Peter McPhillips, were based on “no legal advice at all upon which the respondent could rely”, judges said, despite police claims that officers were acting on advice from their solicitor.

The written judgement from the specialist court was sent to police watchdog the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) and Sir Thomas Winsor, the Chief Inspector of Constabulary, for consideration.

Barry Coppinger, Police and Crime Commissioner for Cleveland, said the investigation into the RIPA use is still ongoing and its results will be published.

He said: “I want to re-iterate my firm belief that a free press is essential for any democracy and journalists must be allowed to go about their work without unlawful intervention by the police or anyone else.

“Recently I announced that I had commissioned, jointly with the Chief Constable, an independent review of the use of RIPA authorisations by the force. I was clear that should anything arise that caused concern we would deal with that appropriately. We will continue to do that.”