Ex-council chief convicted of two charges over deleting email

A former chief executive of Mid and East Antrim Council has been convicted of two charges connected to deleting or attempting to delete an email to prevent disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act.

Anne Donaghy, 56, of Clonmore Road, Dungannon, has been fined £1,500. She was cleared of a third charge of trying to have an email deleted.

Her co-accused Aaron McClelland, of Clonmakate Road in Portadown, was also cleared of one charge of trying to have an email deleted.

In a statement, Mid and East Antrim Borough Council said it will "carefully consider the outcome and any implications arising" from the verdict.

It said the council is "committed to the highest standards of governance, transparency and information management".

The charges Donaghy was convicted of relate to an email she sent to the private email address of then-Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader Arlene Foster.

Donaghy was cleared of a charge related to an email sent to DUP councillor Greg McKeen.

Neither Donaghy or McClelland gave evidence during the two-day trial.

It is understood Donaghy intends to appeal against the conviction, with her solicitors KRW Law saying they are "currently considering all options in order to set aside the judgement".

"Our client maintains her innocence of these allegations. She will vehemently contest today's findings."

They said Donaghy has been convicted on a case that "was not made against her by the Public Prosecution Service and to that end she did not have an opportunity to defend herself against that case".

District Judge Alana McSorley told the court Donaghy had been under mounting political pressure at the time she told her PA to delete the email to Foster.

The judge noted the prosecution's case that there was a perception that Donaghy was too close to the DUP and that she was "keen to dilute that impression by deleting emails".

She said a perception that Donaghy had been too close to the DUP "formed the basis" of Donaghy's decision to delete the email.

The judge said the "irrefutable conclusion" was that Donaghy had intended to prevent disclosure of information.

In January 2021, Donaghy sent a letter to the Cabinet Office in London expressing concern about controversial post-Brexit border checks at Larne Port.

In the following weeks she forwarded it on to a number of DUP politicians, including a personal email address of Foster, who was first minister at the time.

A few days after the email to Foster, the council received a FoI request from Belfast Live journalist Brendan Hughes, who now works for the BBC. He asked for correspondence, internally and externally at the council, relating to "alleged threats to staff" over the Northern Ireland Protocol.

The council decided not to release this information based on health and safety and confidentiality grounds and informed Hughes of its decision in April.

A fortnight later, Donaghy appeared at a Stormont committee where she was questioned by MLAs, including Alliance's John Blair who appeared to have a copy of the letter sent to the Cabinet Office.

He asked her why she had sought the views of DUP politicians but not those from other parties.

"One line of criticism was that Anne Donaghy had consulted with DUP to the exclusion of other parties," a prosecution barrister told the court.

Donaghy's lawyer said she had not acted because of a perception she was too close to the DUP but instead out of concern about leaking.

He added that leaking was a massive problem at the council at the time, and said that, at the time the email to Foster was deleted "there was no live FoI request" because the request sent by the journalist had been refused and he had not appealed it.

Donaghy's barrister told the court his client had not worked since the time of the offences and was on a pension.

He said the proceedings had "taken a very significant toll on her".

"She has had this hanging over her head for five years," he said.