The story of two journalists who investigated an unsolved mass murder in Northern Ireland.

No-one has ever been charged or convicted.

Episode 8 – Who Watches the Watchmen

As the dust settles on a historic judgement by the Investigatory Powers Tribunal – Barry and Trevor say their fight is not yet over, demanding a full public inquiry to reveal the full extent of surveillance.

Can a wide-ranging review of surveillance powers commissioned by the Chief Constable of the PSNI provide answers - and can a balance between national security legislation and the need for transparency ever truly be achieved?

A BBC Northern Ireland Production

The story of two journalists who investigated an unsolved mass murder in Northern Ireland.

Episode 7 – Full Disclosure

Barry and Trevor prepare for a rare public hearing of the Investigatory Powers Tribunal – but last minute disclosures from police forces across the U.K bring repeated adjournments – and raise serious questions about how wide the net of surveillance against journalists has been cast.

A BBC Northern Ireland production

When the High Court finds the warrants were unlawful, the police investigation comes to an end. But Barry is concerned that he may have been placed under surveillance and he approaches the only court in the UK which can tell him if that’s true.

The Investigatory Powers Tribunal has the power to find out if he was spied on unlawfully, but rarely find in favour of claimants. Years pass with no response – then, an unexpected revelation. One that will have far-reaching consequences for journalists and multiple police forces.

Released on bail, Barry McCaffrey and Trevor Birney begin a legal fight to challenge the legality of the warrants. Central to their case is the question of what the judge who granted the warrants was - and wasn’t - told by police.

The judgment will be viewed as a landmark ruling on the rights of journalists to protect sources; were the warrants unlawful?

A BBC Northern Ireland production

The story of two journalists who investigated an unsolved mass murder in Northern Ireland.

Six men were shot dead by Loyalist paramilitaries in the Height’s Bar, Loughinisland on the 18th June 1994.

Episode 4 – Operation Yurta

On the day of the film’s Belfast premiere, police announce a new investigation – into the suspected theft of sensitive documents from the Police Ombudsman of Northern Ireland.

Barry McCaffrey and Trevor Birney are arrested nine months later and their homes and offices are searched.

While they are questioned about four offences - theft, handling stolen goods, unlawfully disclosing personal data and offences under the Official Secrets Act - their legal teams must make an urgent decision.

Readings by

Ian Davidson

A BBC Northern Ireland production

The story of two journalists who investigated an unsolved mass murder in Northern Ireland.

Episode 3 – No Stone Unturned

While a second Ombudsman investigation gets underway, journalists Barry McCaffrey and Trevor Birney start work on a new documentary about the Loughinisland massacre.

When the Ombudsman’s report finds elements of the police prevented a proper investigation to protect informants, Barry uses the leaked documents to unlock the identities of chief suspects – but should they name them in the film?

Readings by:

A BBC Northern Ireland production

The story of two journalists who investigated an unsolved mass murder in Northern Ireland.

Episode 1 – Early One Morning

Investigative journalist Barry McCaffrey has slept in and he’s late for work. When his doorbell rings at 7am, Barry wonders if the day he’s been dreading has finally arrived – are his worst fears about to come true?

A BBC Northern Ireland Production

The story of two journalists who investigated an unsolved mass murder in Northern Ireland.

Episode 2 – Six Men Dead

Barry recounts the tragic events of 18th June, when a ruthless UVF gang open fire indiscriminately in the Height’s Bar – killing six men, and seriously wounding five others.

A report into the police investigation finds serious failings, but no evidence the police tried to protect the gang from prosecution.

Then - Barry receives a leaked secret document in the post from an anonymous sender.

A BBC Northern Ireland Production

A hush-hush factory opening. No photographs allowed. A story of cover-ups, corporate espionage, fightbacks – and death ...

In this series, casually scanning old newspaper archives, Ophelia Byrne comes across an odd headline: “Hush hush process in Ballyclare firm.”

The newspaper was printed in 1967. “Strictly no photographs” was the order issued at the opening of the new factory.

“90 guests steered clear of a top-secret process.” All workers “will have to sign an oath of secrecy.”

What, she wonders, is this factory making?

Ophelia doesn’t know it when she starts out, but her subsequent investigation into this company, Turner and Newall, will take her from a small town in Northern Ireland across the Irish Sea to places like Rochdale, Leeds and London.

It will bring her to one million documents released for a transatlantic trial – papers which show cover-ups and even corporate espionage.

The product, of course, is asbestos. You may think you know the story – it’s a dangerous substance.

But Ophelia marries previous journalistic investigations to new documents which reveal what government agencies knew about its risks, and when.

She combs through company correspondence which the manufacturers claimed did not exist, and clearly never imagined would become public.

It is the story too of the people who fought and died for the truth to expose the reckless pursuit of profit in the making of one of the most dangerous building materials on the planet.

Presenter/ Producer: Ophelia Byrne

An unmarked grave – and missing documents. What do the authorities know?

In this series, casually scanning old newspaper archives, Ophelia Byrne comes across an odd headline: “Hush hush process in Ballyclare firm.”

The newspaper was printed in 1967. “Strictly no photographs” was the order issued at the opening of the new factory.

“90 guests steered clear of a top-secret process.” All workers “will have to sign an oath of secrecy.”

What, she wonders, is this factory making?

Ophelia doesn’t know it when she starts out, but her subsequent investigation into this company, Turner and Newall, will take her from a small town in Northern Ireland across the Irish Sea to places like Rochdale, Leeds and London.

It will bring her to one million documents released for a transatlantic trial – papers which show cover-ups and even corporate espionage.

The product, of course, is asbestos. You may think you know the story – it’s a dangerous substance.

But Ophelia marries previous journalistic investigations to new documents which reveal what government agencies knew about its risks, and when.

She combs through company correspondence which the manufacturers claimed did not exist, and clearly never imagined would become public.

It is the story too of the people who fought and died for the truth to expose the reckless pursuit of profit in the making of one of the most dangerous building materials on the planet.

Presenter/ Producer: Ophelia Byrne