Police Calls (Hansard, 9 March 1960)

§ 15. Mr. Burden
asked the Postmaster-General by what authority Mr. Lionel Bell, of Chatham, a General Post Office telephone supervisor, always listens in on police calls and takes notes in case he can help the police; and if he will make a statement.

§ Mr. Bevins
Telephone operators have no general authority to listen to calls made to the police. At automatic exchanges calls to the police, other than those emergency calls obtained by dialling 999, are dialled by the caller and the operator is unable to listen. In an emergency when 999 is dialled for police, ambulance or fire, the operators are instructed to listen and give what assistance they can to ensure that the call serves its purpose. A few other calls, such as the one which led to police proceedings at Chatham, are put through by the operator because the caller has failed to get the call himself and has asked for assistance. In those cases the operator waits on the line to make sure that the call has been properly connected.

§ Mr. Burden
Is my right hon. Friend aware that it is a quite impossible idea that telephone operators should listen in to calls to the police unless they are emergency calls obtained by dialling 999, where there might be some excuse? Is he aware that this man said in evidence: I put him through to the police and listened in to the call. We always listen in on police calls and take notes in case we can help the police. Is it not clear that the police and the Post Office worker were "in cahoots", in view of the fact that they exchanged evidence, got together on this and presented the evidence to the court? Will my right hon. Friend please look into this matter and ensure that it does not happen in future? Will he consider giving instructions to all Post Office employees that they will not listen in and take notes of any calls other than emergency calls obtained by dialling 999. and then only to give an address or particulars which might be of dire necessity?

§ Mr. Bevins
I think my hon. Friend will agree that the circumstances of this particular case were very exceptional, in that the operator at the telephone exchange in trying to help the caller to get through to the police heard the caller's opening remarks to the police, which were obscene. I want to confirm from this Box that operators have no authority to listen in on non-emergency calls to the police or to other services. Of course, instructions to telephone operators are in existence. They are very lengthy. I am perfectly willing to have a look at those instructions again to see whether they require either clarification or strengthening on this relatively narrow point.

§ Mr. Gordon Walker
How can this case be exceptional if this man made a regular practice of doing this? Also, did he not make a regular practice of taking notes, which seems quite different from just listening in to help a subscriber to put a call through?

§ Mr. Bevins
On the second point, I have had conversations with the individual telephone operator. He says that his reference in court to the taking of notes was not meant to be taken literally. [HON. MEMBERS: "Oh."] I am simply telling the House with perfect candour what the man said. He was thinking in terms of mental notes. I say to the right hon. Gentleman quite plainly that it is certainly not the practice, nor are telephone operators authorised, to listen in to calls of this kind.

§ Mr. Burden
Will my right hon. Friend take particular note of the fact that this man in evidence and under oath said: We always listen in on police calls and take notes in case we can help the police". That is the thing which most of all he should carefully look into and, if necessary, call for an extract of the evidence.

§ Mr. Bevins
I realise what the Press reports of these proceedings said. I have read them. I want to state quite categorically that what this man said in court was simply not the case.