§ Mr. SpeakerI call Mr. Litterick to speak on a point of order.
§ Mr. Litterickrose—
§ Mr. HefferOn a point of order, Mr. Speaker—
§ Mr. SpeakerI can take only one point of order at a time.
§ Mr. LitterickFurther to that point of order Mr. Speaker—[Interruption.]
§ Mr. SpeakerI called Mr. Litterick on a point of order.
§ Mr. LitterickOn a point of order, Mr. Speaker. I wish you, Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the House, formally to take note of the fact that yesterday afternoon a telephone call that I made from one of the corridor telephones of this building to a member of the public was intercepted by a third party.
§ Mr. SpeakerOrder. If hon. Members do not listen they will not know whose telephone it was.
§ Mr. LitterickI think that the House should take notice, as this is a serious matter. The events that occurred yesterday affect every Member of Parliament as they suggest the possibility—I put it 880 no stronger than that—that the telephone system of this building is being monitored, with or without the authorisation of the Executive, or that it is possible for the telephone system to be intercepted and monitored by someone else. Therefore I ask you, Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the House, to set in hand an investigation on behalf of the House and independently of any other investigations being made by the Executive.
§ Mr. SpeakerThe hon. Member for Birmingham, Selly Oak (Mr. Litterick) has raised an important question. I think that a statement may be forthcoming from the Government Front Bench. Otherwise I am prepared to make inquiries into the matter.
§ The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mr. Roy Jenkins)Further that that point of order, Mr. Speaker. Perhaps I may help the House if I make a brief intervention.
The statements made by my right hon. Friend the Member for Huyton (Sir H. Wilson) on 17th November 1966 and by the right hon. Member for Sidcup (Mr. Heath) on 16th July 1970 about the tapping of hon. Members' telephones apply also to telephones in the Palace of Westminster used by hon. Members.
There can therefore be no justification for the suspicions expressed by my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham, Selly Oak (Mr. Litterick). I can only speculate on the incident referred to by my hon. Friend. I assume that his conversation took place on an accidentally crossed line—which is not, I fear, outside the experience of any of us—and that the third party took it upon himself to join in.
§ Mr. LitterickFurther to that point of order, Mr. Speaker. It is reasonable for the Home Secretary to refer to previous incidents. However, the House should also bear in mind that it was discovered in the past that the Executive did this. There have been previous cases. Notwithstanding the assurances that were given by previous Prime Ministers, time has elapsed, and the House has no way of knowing whether the situation has changed. Therefore I insist that an investigation should be put in hand by you, Mr. Speaker.
§ Mr. SpeakerI regard myself as the custodian, in part at least, of the rights of hon. Members. Of course I shall look at the question. But we had a forthright reply from the Home Office.