Two Labour MPs bug another Labour MP

Two Labour MPs bug another Labour MP

The two Home Secretaries legally responsible in 2005 and 2006 for bugging Sadiq Khan MP are Charles Clarke MP and John Reid MP respectively.

Presently, legal responsibility for prisons rests with Jack Straw, the Minister of Justice.

There is no lawful authority under the Prison Act 1952 to bug either prisoners, legal advisers, or MPs. Because of the hierarchy of powers, the Prison Act 1952 is at the apex. The Act provides for the power to make Prison Rules, and Orders and Instructions. The Rules must come within the power of the Act, and the Orders within the Rules and the Act, and the Instructions within the Orders, Rules and Act. Any instruction, from the Home Secretary, to bug an MP within the bounds of a prison, is ultra vires, that is, outside the power of the Act, and therefore unlawful. Both Charles Clarke and John Reid have broken the law on this issue.

The issue here is Security versus the Law. There is lawful authority to place certain restrictions upon prisoner/legal adviser, and prisoner/MP communications if the prison authorities have reasonable suspicion to believe that, for example, the legal adviser or MP might try to smuggle drugs into the prison and give them to the prisoner. It is not unheard of for a legal adviser to engage in this sort of conduct. For example, when Paul Boateng was a solicitor, he was caught attempting to smuggle drugs into Brixton Prison. The affair was hushed up, and he later became a Labour MP and Prisons Minister!

If I was Sadiq Khan MP, I would demand that Charles Clarke MP and John Reid MP came into the House of Commons and make statements in relation to their suspicions because on grounds of Security, if Sadiq Khan MP has any involvement with terrorism, should he be working for the Ministry of Justice?

UPDATE:

Nobody legally gets inside or out of prison without the then Home Secretary (now Minister of Justice) authority. A prison officer arranges which prisoners sit upon which tables in a prison visiting room. If the police or security services had bugs on particular tables, they would indicate where they desired target prisoners to sit and the prison officer in charge of visits would ensure this occurred. He or she would be acting on authority of the Home Secretary. The prison officer in charge of visits would know if a visitor was official e.g. legal or MP, or domestic e.g. family or friend. So too would the prison officer in charge of the gatehouse. There is no way a Home Secretary could claim that he was not aware of the situation. Heads would roll downstairs if authority had not come from upstairs.

Visits have to be pre-arranged. It is standard operating procedure that when a MP seeks to visit a prison, the Home Office is informed just in case a prisoner divulges information which could cause embarrassment to the Prison Service. The Home Office would be informed of the name of the prisoner to be visited and the name of the MP, or the Home Office would ask for this information from the prison. It follows that the Home Office knew that the prisoner was being bugged, and that his visitors would be bugged including the MP.

Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000

"4 Power to provide for lawful interception

(4) Conduct taking place in a prison is authorised by this section if it is conduct in exercise of any power conferred by or under any rules made under section 47 of the [1952 c. 52.] Prison Act 1952, section 39 of the [1989 c. 45.] Prisons (Scotland) Act 1989 or section 13 of the [1953 c. 18 (N.I.).] Prison Act (Northern Ireland) 1953 (prison rules)". This is in relation to the monitoring of telephones within prison.

Office of Surveillance Commissioners

Prison Act 1952 (as amended)

Prison Rules (1999)

Prison Service Order 4410 - prisoner communications - visits