A strong warning to journalists that they could be jailed or fined if they publish information confidential to the tribunal was issued yesterday by the Flood Tribunal chairman.
The statement came as a result of recent reports in one Sunday newspaper and a tabloid about some bank accounts the tribunal had decided to inspect.
Mr Justice Flood also directed a bank to carry out an investigation in an effort to identify the source of the leak to the media of an internal memorandum based upon correspondence with the tribunal.
"At the outset let me emphasise that the fact that I have decided to inspect a particular bank account or the bank account of a particular individual, whether politician or not, does not mean and should not be interpreted as meaning that such individual is or has been guilty of any wrongdoing or impropriety," the chairman stated.
No conclusion or finding would be made solely on the basis that he had sought or obtained information from financial institutions in respect of an individual or group of individuals. He was satisfied that it would be improper for him to do so.
"Consequently, I am satisfied that it is improper, and unhelpful in the extreme, for any newspaper or publication to publish the names of persons whose bank accounts are alleged to be the subject of inquiries in private by the tribunal," the chairman said.
Correspondence between the tribunal and financial institutions was confidential.
"Any media publication of material contained in such correspondence has the potential to hinder or obstruct the tribunal in the performance of its functions and should it do so would thereby constitute the commission of a criminal offence punishable on conviction by a fine of £10,000 or two years' imprisonment or both," he warned.
A memorandum prepared by the legal department of a bank and circulated internally had come into the possession of a national newspaper. The memo was based on confidential material and information taken from a series of letters written by the tribunal to the bank.
The newspaper gave an undertaking not to publish when the chairman threatened to take out an injunction. However, he said, the memo was furnished to a number of journalists, leading to publication of confidential material in at least two journals.
The chairman said such publication might hinder or obstruct the tribunal in its work and prove to be a disincentive to persons who would otherwise readily co-operate with the tribunal's investigations.
He assured the people named and the public that the information had not come from any tribunal source or document. He directed that the bank be contacted and that it carry out an investigation into the source of the information.
"I earnestly ask the media not to publish or disseminate information which is confidential to the tribunal and I want to make it clear to all concerned that I will not hesitate to use such options as are available to me, whether by way of application to the High Court, by way of complaint to the DPP or otherwise to restrain any improper disclosure of information to the tribunal," the chairman stated.