§ 28. Lieut.-Commander Fletcherasked the Home Secretary since what date his warrant has been required to enable police or other Government authorities to listen-in to private telephone conversations; and what was the practice prior to that date?
§ Sir S. HoareIt has always been the rule that listening-in to a private telephone conversation without the knowledge of either party should not be authorised except in special circumstances. There is no legal requirement as to the form in which authority should be given by the Secretary of State for this purpose, but in practice, if this authority is given, it takes the form of a warrant under the hand of the Secretary of State. The position is different if a subscriber himself asks the police to listen-in on his telephone. As my right hon. Friend the 551 Postmaster-General has already explained, there is nothing to prevent a subscriber from arranging for the police or anyone else to listen-in on his line through the agency of an extension line or other device, and in that case no warrant is required.
§ Lieut.-Commander FletcherAre these warrants only granted in specific cases where criminal activities are suspected, or are they also granted when the political views of an individual are in question?
§ Sir S. HoareI have already informed the hon. and gallant Member that, in accordance with precedent, I am not prepared to give detailed answers of that kind to questions in this House.
§ Mr. GallacherIs it not the legal right of those concerned in the warrant to know that the warrant has been issued?
§ Sir S. HoareI am not prepared to give further information on a subject of which the essential characteristic is secrecy.
§ 29. Lieut.-Commander Fletcherasked the Home Secretary whether, without stating the number of occasions upon which his warrant to open private postal correspondence has been granted, he will say if the frequency of granting such warrants is increasing or decreasing?
§ Sir S. HoareThe hon. and gallant Member will appreciate that the number of occasions on which the public interest requires that this power should be exercised necessarily varies from time to time. To compare one period with another would, therefore, be misleading, and it would, moreover, be detrimental to the public interest to attempt to do so.
§ Lieut.-Commander FletcherMust the circumstances under which a warrant is granted be laid before the right hon. Gentleman personally, or can they be dealt with by a member of the permanent staff of his Department?
§ Sir S. HoareI have already informed the hon. and gallant Member that the Secretary of State personally deals with matters of that kind.