Whistleblower legislation used to uncover INM deal

Revelations of alleged email hacking and serious corporate governance clashes at Independent News and Media, the country’s largest newspaper publisher, have their roots in September and October 2016 meetings.

The controversy arose when the former INM chief executive who resigned last year, Robert Pitt, and its former chairman, Leslie Buckley, who resigned in recent weeks, clashed over the value of a potential acquisition of Newstalk, the national radio station.

The full extent of the row was only laid bare when it emerged that Mr Pitt used whistleblowing legislation to complain as a dispute inside the media firm raged over the potential acquisition.