Northern Ireland

Report reveals scale of harassment and intimidation against Quinn Industrial Holdings

A car targeted in an arson attack at the home of QIH director Tony Lunney in October last year in Ballyconnell, Co Cavan
A car targeted in an arson attack at the home of QIH director Tony Lunney in October last year in Ballyconnell, Co Cavan A car targeted in an arson attack at the home of QIH director Tony Lunney in October last year in Ballyconnell, Co Cavan
By Brendan Hughes

THE campaign of harassment and intimidation facing Quinn Industrial Holdings is highly orchestrated, coordinated and follows a pattern, a report for the company found.

The scale of attacks and threats against the firm, its employees, directors and senior management is laid bare in a confidential document seen by The Irish News.

Bullets in the post, cars set alight and a vehicle trying to push another off the road are among the dozens of threatening incidents.

Stretching to 204 pages, the report catalogues each incident in the past four years including physical attacks, vandalism, verbal abuse and intimidating posters, as well as threats, false allegations and misinformation circulated online.

It draws the conclusion from the timeline of events that some intimidating acts "coincide with press coverage around the success of the company".

"An examination of the chronology of intimidatory and violent events show that there is a tendency for intimidation and harassment to escalate significantly after media coverage eg following mention of the business or the individuals in the press, be that in a positive or neutral way," it said.

The report, last updated in April, documents each incident since January 2015 as well as relevant press coverage.

It also chronicles the many Facebook posts from anonymous groups directed at Quinn Industrial Holdings (QIH).

They "appear comfortable to invent situations, make false allegations and create false rumours in an effort to discredit and harass the executives".

"This is damaging to the business and stymies opportunities for external investment. It is also extremely distressing to the named individuals whose private lives are affected."

The report also examines the language used in anonymous posts online and correspondence relating to QIH, and noted some cases of similar terms and phrases being used.

The various posts and correspondence "although allegedly from unrelated parties used remarkably similar wording, [suggesting] that the campaign is highly orchestrated and coordinated", it said.