Anne Donaghy: Former Mid and East Antrim Council chief executive charged with deleting emails linked to Freedom of Information request
The former chief executive of Mid and East Antrim Borough Council has been charged with multiple offences of breaching the Freedom of Information Act.
Although Anne Marion Donaghy did not appear at Ballymena Magistrates Court, the 55-year-old was charged with three offences relating to records kept by the council, two relating to April 29, 2021 and one to June 4, 2021.
Donaghy, from the Clonmore Road in Dungannon, faces charges of altering a record with intent to prevent its lawful disclosure, attempting to alter records and aiding and abetting the altering of a record.
The details of the charges disclose that having received a lawful enquiry under the Freedom of Information Act having been made to East Antrim Borough Council, relating to information the applicant would have been lawfully entitled, Donaghy “did erase or conceal a record, namely an email dated February 2, 2021, held by the public authority, with the intention of preventing the disclosure by that authority of all, or any part, of the information to the communication.”
The third charge alleges that a named woman erased or concealed an email on February 2 and that Donaghy “did aid, abet, counsel and procure the commission of the said offence.”
Also charged on Monday (January 19) was 49-year-old Aaron McClelland, from Clonmakate Road, Portadown.
He is charged with attempting to alter records on June 4, 2021, in that he “attempted to erase or conceal a record, namely an email dated February 1, 2021, held by the public authority, with the intention of preventing the disclosure by that authority of all, or any part, of the information to the communication of which the applicant would have been entitled.”
It is understood the charges arise after the PSNI twice searched council offices at The Braid in Ballymena, in October 2021 and April 2022.
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.
It had emerged that after threatening graffiti was daubed on the walls of Larne port, Donaghy had written to the Cabinet Office that council employees were under threat from loyalist paramilitaries and staff were withdrawn for a time.
However, all staff returned to duties after the PSNI said it had no information to support claims of loyalist paramilitaries threatening staff safety.
In court on Monday, Donaghy’s defence KC Michael Chambers said the defence team “intend to challenge the jurisdiction of the court to hear the summons”.
In submissions echoed by defence counsel for McClelland, he told District Judge Nigel Broderick there are three issues the defence want to explore.
The lawyer explained that as the offences are summary only and cannot be prosecuted to Crown Court, the defence want to check that the proper forms were lodged.
Mr Chambers said that the second issue was that given the nature of the allegations, a prosecution can only proceed “with the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions” so the defence teams want to check that is in place.
Lastly, the senior barrister told Judge Broderick the defence are seeking an explanation and a chronology why “it has taken over four years for the summons to be issued”.
The case was adjourned to January 29.