Simon Byrne, the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, has resigned amid increasing pressure on his position following a major data leak.

His resignation was accepted by members of the policing board during an emergency meeting on Monday.

Mr Byrne was appointed chief constable of the PSNI in May 2019 but has faced criticism over his leadership, most notably a data leak in which dissident republicans claimed to have obtained information from the worst security breach in the force’s history. 

This is a breaking news story. Updates to follow.