The McCullough Review – Indicative timetable for substantive report

On 17 January 2025 I published an update on the work of the Review, which can be accessed here. At the conclusion of that progress report I stated that I intended in early March to provide the Chief Constable with an indicative timetable for my reporting to him, on the basis of the stage that the work of the review had reached by then – and that I would publish that further update on this website. 

I provided this timetable to the Chief Constable on Wednesday 19 March 2025 and am now publishing it on the Review website.

  • With the assistance of my team I hope to be in a position to produce a draft substantive report to the Chief Constable by early July.
  • Whilst there is always the possibility of this target not being achieved as a result of unforeseen developments, this currently appears to the Review team to be a realistic target.
  • This substantive report may not be a final report, in particular given the relevant matters that remain under ongoing consideration by the Investigatory Powers Tribunal. Nevertheless I do expect that it will be the main substantive report from the work of the Review, reaching what we consider to be reliable conclusions on the central matters, even if subject to an update or supplement in due course.
  • Once this draft report has been submitted to the Chief Constable there will then need to be a discussion to reach agreement as to the details that are required, for genuine good reason (such as statutory requirements or the public interest) to be produced in a closed annexe rather than in the openly published report.  In this regard I have repeatedly indicated my determination that the report will contain as much detail as it is possible to include in a public document.The Chief Constable has consistently indicated that he supports that approach.
  • Once that task has been completed – which I hope may be achieved within 3 weeks or so – it will then be for the Chief Constable to liaise with the NI Policing Board as to their receipt of the publishable report.
  • Both the Chief Constable and I are keen that there should be no delay in publication once the report is in a final form.

Postscript, 26 March 2025

Following the update provided above, it is apparent that there has there may have been a lack of awareness in some quarters as to the following point:

It has always been envisaged that there would be a closed element to any substantive report.

From the outset of the Review it had been appreciated that some details of findings within the Review’s remit would not be capable of being included in the published report. Given the subject matter of the Review, and its context, that has always been clear. That in no way detracts from my determination that as much as possible will be openly published. On that basis provision for a closed report appears in the Terms of Reference published on 14 June 2024, paragraph 16 of which states:

16. The Reviewer shall issue public-facing reports, including any recommendations made, to the CC, as required, for publication by the PSNI. In any reports submitted to the CC for publication, the Reviewer and the CC shall seek to maximise the openness and transparency of his findings and recommendations, in so far as consistent with statutory constraints and legitimate sensitivities - subject only to which the CC shall publish any report promptly. Where the Reviewer cannot make findings or recommendations publicly, he shall provide a Closed report to the CC.

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