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Former council boss one of two facing charges over alleged deleted emails

Gareth Gordon
BBC News NI political correspondent
BBC Anne Donaghy standing on a street during a previous BBC interview. She has long, wavy ginger hair and is wearing a beige coat with a fur collar over a black jacket and a yellow top. BBC
Anne Donaghy was the chief executive of Mid and East Antrim Council at the time

The former chief executive of Mid and East Antrim Borough Council is one of two people facing prosecution after a police investigation into the local authority, her solicitor has said.

Anne Donaghy's solicitor Kevin Winters said his client had been told she would be prosecuted on three counts under the Freedom of Information (FoI) Act and other legislation.

The Public Prosecution Service (PPS) earlier said that two people faced charges over the alleged deletion of e-mails related to a Freedom of Information request.

The other person, who has not been named, is facing one charge under the FoI Act.

Mr Winters said Ms Donaghy denied any wrongdoing and would "vehemently contest these three technical offences".

A total of four people were reported on a police file submitted to the PPS for consideration.

In a statement, the PPS said the available evidence in relation to the other two people investigated is insufficient to provide a reasonable prospect of conviction so did not meet the test of prosecution.

Police twice searched the council offices in October 2021 and then the following April.

A BBC Spotlight programme previously reported it was connected to alleged attempts to delete correspondence relating to the decision to withdraw council staff operating under the post-Brexit trade conditions known as the Northern Ireland Protocol.

Albert Bridge/Geograph The exterior of the Braid building in Ballymena. The modern grey stone building has a large glass frontage and glass panels at the side. There is a lawned area to the front with a few trees and two sets of traffic lights are on the road leading to the entrancesAlbert Bridge/Geograph
Mid and East Antrim Council is based in the Braid building in Ballymena

The staff, who were carrying out checks on goods arriving from Great Britain, were removed because of apparent threats from loyalist paramilitaries.

It later emerged Ms Donaghy, who was chief executive at the time, had written to the Cabinet Office before the decision to remove staff was taken.

She told the UK government graffiti had been directly targeting council staff working on checks.

The then Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots subsequently withdrew inspectors performing the checks at ports in Northern Ireland.

However, shortly after, all staff had returned to duties. The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) issued a threat assessment stating it had no information to support claims of loyalist paramilitaries threatening staff safety.