Dissidents in possession of PSNI details'

Terrorists' claim not yet verified says Byrne | Chief Con indicates he will not be resigning

DISSIDENT republicans claim to be in possession of information about PSNI officers following a data blunder, Chief Constable Simon Byrne said yesterday.

Hundreds of cops have voiced fears for their safety following the breach which affected some 10,000 PSNI employees.

Speaking after an emergency meeting of the Northern Ireland Policing Board, Mr Byrne said he was "deeply sorry" about an "industrial scale breach of data".

He added: "An early worst case scenario we have been dealing with is that third parties would attempt to get this data to intimidate, corrupt or indeed cause harm to our officers and staff.

"We are now aware that dissident republicans claim to be in possession of some of this information circulating on WhatsApp.

"As we speak we are advising officers and staff about how to deal with that and any further risk they may face." He added the force has not yet been able to verify the substance of the claim.

Last night in a statement, Mr Byrne added: "I do not underestimate the seriousness of this breach and the impact it will have on colleagues and their families.