Officers were told by Superintendent Gerry Murray they should bring a personal protection weapon to church if they feel unsafe after details were accidentally leaked last month, a committee of MPs has heard.
He had also been under intense pressure since a court ruling that he had unlawfully disciplined two junior officers.
Mr Byrne had been due to attend today's session of parliament's Northern Ireland Affairs Committee, which heard evidence of the impact the data breach has had on"scared" and"horrified" PSNI officers and civilian staff. The MPs on the committee were told Catholic members of the PSNI had been encouraged to bring weapons to mass since the data breach.The implications of Simon Byrne's resignation
Superintendent Gerry Murray, the chairperson of the Catholic Police Guild of Northern Ireland, said:"We have had officers resigning, going from the organisation.
"We are in a dark space. We are in a downward spiral," Liam Kelly, the chair of the Police Federation for Northern Ireland, also told the committee., we are finding we are having to police against the backdrop of a severe terrorist threat."
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