The safety of the conviction of two men jailed for a Continuity IRA gun attack on a member of the PSNI police “must be re-examined” after it emerged the PSNI spied on a legal team, the two lawyers have said.

Brendan McConville and John Paul Wootton were convicted in 2012 of the killing of Stephen Carroll in Craigavon in March 2009.

The County Armagh men denied involvement and have been the focus of a long-running miscarriage of justice campaign.

It has now been confirmed by the PSNI itself that two members of Mr McConville’s legal team were spied upon by the force in the run up to an appeal in 2013, which failed to overturn their convictions.

Both lawyers, who are partners with Belfast based firm Phoenix Law, were told an authorisation was given to obtain their communications data in 2013.

Lawyer Darragh Mackin has previously spoken of being ‘terrified’ and ‘intimidated’ by the PSNI.

In a statement Mr Corrigan and Mr Mackin said: “The review has confirmed that an unlawful covert surveillance operation was conducted”.

“The fact that there is now evidence suggesting that police were monitoring and interfering with privileged legal exchanges is frankly staggering,” they said.

“The implications are clear, legal privilege was violated and the safety of McConville’s convictions must be re-examined.

“A defendant’s right to a fair trial cannot be effectively ensured under the shadow of covert police surveillance on solicitors.”

PSNI chief Jon Boutcher has apologised to the lawyers, who say they will now take their case to the Investigatory Powers Tribunal in London.

On conviction Mr McConville was given a life sentence with a minimum of 25 years to serve. Mr Wootton, was aged just 17 when he was arrested, was handed a 14-year-sentence, but subsequently increased to 18 years after an increase was demanded by Director of Public Prosecutions Barra McGrory.

In 2021, the Criminal Case Review Commission (CCRC), which examines potential miscarriages of justice, rejected an application by Mr McConville’s legal team to refer the case to the Court of Appeal.

But a year later it reopened the case under threat of legal action over concerns about the role of MI5 double agent Dennis McFadden, who is known to have infiltrated political and campaign groups - including the Justice for the Craigavon Two campaign.

A spokesman for the scandal-plagued CCRC, a quango which controversially refuses 98 per cent of the cases referred to it, said the Craigavon Two case is still under review.