Anne Donaghy: Ex-council chief convicted of two charges over email deletion

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.

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.

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.

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.