MPs 'not exempt from jail bugs'

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MPs should never expect to be exempt from having their conversations recorded when they visit constituents in prison, a senior policeman said.

Nick Gargan, Assistant Chief Constable at Thames Valley Police, made the claim in the wake of the row over the bugging of Labour MP Sadiq Khan.

He said the "Wilson doctrine", which forbids the covert tapping of MPs, did not apply to their discussions in jail.

"The Wilson Doctrine doesn't apply to surveillance," he told MPs.

Mr Gargan was appearing before the Commons Home Affairs Select Committee which is looking into the controversy over the bugging of Mr Khan.

Authorisation

The Labour MP had been on a visit to his constituent Babar Ahmad, a terror suspect, when he was secretly recorded on two separate occasions.

These took place at Woodhill Prison on 21 May 2005 and 24 June 2006.

In our interpretation, the Wilson Doctrine doesn't apply to surveillance and therefore this wouldn't apply Nick GarganAssistant Chief ConstableThames Valley Police

The US is seeking to extradite Mr Ahmad on suspicion of running websites raising funds for the Taleban. Mr Khan has been campaigning for his release.

During the committee meeting, its chair, Labour MP Keith Vaz asked Mr Gargan: "If a member of Parliament visits a constituent in prison who happens to be the subject of surveillance, would it continue?

"It won't stop because a member of Parliament visits a constituent?"

Mr Gargan replied: "It depends on the nature of the authorisation, the nature of the visit and the circumstances in which the Member of Parliament was to introduce themselves to the prison.

"In our interpretation, the Wilson Doctrine doesn't apply to surveillance and therefore this wouldn't apply."

Ex-TVP sergeant

The 40-year-old code, known as the Wilson Doctrine forbids - or was thought to forbid - the covert recording of conversations between MPs and their constituents.

In a little-noticed written answer to Parliament in 2007 Prime Minister Gordon Brown clarified the doctrine to say that it stopped MPs from being bugged on the orders of a politician.

Ex-Thames Valley Police intelligence officer Mark Kearney claims he bugged Mr Khan's visit to Mr Ahmad at Woodhill Prison, even though he did not think he was right to do so.

The former police sergeant, who was working at the jail, faces charges - unrelated to the bugging claims - of leaking information to a local newspaper.