Amendment to the Terms of Reference to provide an end point of 1 November 2024 for the review period

As originally agreed paragraph 10 of the ToR referred to  “the period from 1 January 2011 to the present day”.  For practical purposes, as searches of PSNI systems by the review team are now underway, it is realistically necessary to have an end date for the period under review, rather than for this to be open-ended.  

The GoES agreed with my proposal to seek the agreement of the Chief Constable to amend the ToR to provide for an end date of 1 November 2024, which was the date of the extended deadline for the Call for Evidence to the review. The Chief Constable promptly agreed to this request, and so the ToR now provide as follows, with the changed provision being indicated in bold:

10. Subject to paragraph 5 (pending IPT proceedings) the remit of the review is to investigate, evaluate and assess the propriety and legality of any surveillance by PSNI of individuals or groups of special status (as defined at paragraph 4 above) during the period from 1 January 2011 to 1 November 2024 (being the date on which the extended deadline for the Call for Evidence expired). The dates of the review period may be reconsidered during the course of the review, which may lead to amendment pursuant to paragraph 6 above. The Reviewer shall make any recommendations as appear appropriate in the light of the findings of the review.