dissident republicans were behind that action in a bid to prove they have the information. police are investigating those claims. the police rightly said that there was a claim that they had this information. i think this is, whoever is involved in this, it is their motive to say, actually, we do have this, and to up the ante in terms of trying to intimidate police officers and their staff. we now know that half of northern ireland's police officers have inquired through the police federation that represents rank—and—file officers about potential damages. with more than 10,000 people involved, a potential compensation bill could run into tens of millions of pounds. today, the federation urged all police officers and staff to exercise maximum vigilance. these days, it may seem as though we are constantly being flooded by an endless avalanche of bad news. we feel it here as well in this newsroom as well — which is why this week,