Former Merseyside policeman, who joined the force in 1965 and retired in the rank of Detective Inspector in 1997. Following retirement, Owens served as an investigator with the Data Protection Registrar’s Office (now the Information Commissioner’s Office). While working on an investigation with Devon and Cornwall police, Owens came across bundles of documents of vehicle registrations with personal details. This began the Operation Motorman investigation intended to identify corrupt sources within the DVLA selling or passing on personal details to journalists. Owens gave evidence to the Leveson Inquiry that he and his team had been told not to contact journalists. Owens resigned from his work with the ICO which, he told the Leveson Inquiry, failed in its duty to conduct a full investigation into the conduct of journalists using personal details.
Had been a reporter at the Sunday Mirror for 6 years at the time of the Inquiry. Before that, he had been with the Lancashire Evening Post and received a number of awards for undercover work and investigations. In 2009, he was the subject of a "sting" when a documentary film apparently revealed him willing to buy confidential celebrity medical records. Owens told the Inquiry that he did not take the offer very seriously, no documents were obtained and no story was published.
