§ Mr. DalyellTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what factors underlie the number of telephone interceptions sanctioned by him and his predecessors since 1985. [53431]
§ Mr. McLeishI refer my hon. Friend to the latest report of the Interception Commissioner (Cm 4001) in which he states
The great majority of warrants issued by both Secretaries of State [the Home Secretary and the Secretary of State for Scotland] are for the prevention or detection of serious crime.Serious crime is defined in Section 10(3) of the Act as an offence involving the use of violence or resulting in substantial financial gain or involving a large number of persons in pursuit of a common purpose, or alternatively as an offence for which a person who has attained the age of 21 and has no previous convictions could 486W reasonably be expected to be sentenced to imprisonment for a term of 3 years or more. All of the serious crime warrants which I have examined have bene concerned with offences which would rank as serious crime by any reckoning … All have comfortably passed the 3 years imprisonment test …I am satisfied that the substantial increase in interception is due to the continuing incidence of large scale crime coupled with the greater facilities now available to the various agencies. The strict criteria laid down by the Act continue to be applied".