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A mediation process involving the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) is to take place to attempt to agree the amount of damages to be paid to up to 7,000 staff impacted by a major data leak.

The final bill could be as much as £240m, according to previous reports.

The staff are suing the police after their names were among those accidentally disclosed in a Freedom of Information (FoI) request in 2023.

The PSNI has already apologised and accepted liability.

'Universal offer'

The High Court in Belfast has been told both sides are now set to begin mediation over damages.

The process will involve trying to identify an amount to put to the staff as a "universal offer".

"Nobody would be bound to take it, but if the issues are properly explored in mediation it offers the best prospect of finding a figure (to recommend)," a lawyer for the PSNI said.

"The objective is to try to get as many cases resolved as soon as possible, leaving a core which would require more attention.

"Liability is no longer an issue, it's [now] a matter of causation and damages."

Details released in error included the surname and initials of every employee, their rank or grade, and the department in which they work.

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Within days of the leak, it was confirmed dissident republicans had obtained the information.

The case has been adjourned until December.

"We welcome this development and look forward to engaging constructively," said Philip Gordon, a solicitor acting for some of the people involved.

"All of our clients will have been affected differently."

Earlier in the year it was revealed the PSNI could be fined £750,000 by the Information Commissioners' Office for its failings.

In September, the Policing Board was told eight people had left the PSNI, citing the data leak as being “influential” in their decision to resign.

Seven of them were civilian staff and one was an officer.