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Sir Ian Blair has secretly recorded a phone conversation with the Attorney General, about the admissability of phone intercept evidence in court

Sir Ian Blair , the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police is reported by The Scotsman as having secretly recorded phone conversations with The Independent Police Complaints Commission over the Jean Charles de Menezes shooting, and with Lord Goldsmith, the Attorney General

Ironically this "confidential" conversation with the Attorney General:

"concerned the admissibility of wire tap evidence in court, but did not involve any particular case."

Given the spin and media leaks which the disgraced Home Secretary David Blunkett inflicted on Sir John Stevens, the predecessor of Sir Ian Blair, it is quite understandable that this most politically correct of NuLabour apparatchiki would, in classic police state style, feel the need to have an independent record of exactly what was, or was not said to his NuLabour political contacts.

Obviously there are several questions which spring to mind, but which we doubt that the journalists reporting the story will bother to ask:


  • Does Sir Ian Blair routinely tape all his phone conversations, or only some of them ?

  • Is this a private, personal, backside covering exercise, or has it been done using Metropolitan Police phone surveillance equipment and resources ?

  • Were these recordings for a personal diary or planned book of memoirs, like so many politicians and senior public officials seem to be compiling for profit and posterity ?

  • Has he tapped or recorded the phone conversations with other Ministers e.g. the Home Secretary or with other Members of Parliament ?

  • If so, does this contravene the "Wilson Doctrine"?

  • Is the fact that , despite being a Cabinet Miniister, Lord Goldsmith is a Peer of the Realm , and is not an elected Member of Parliament, mean that he is not protected by the "Wilson Doctrine" ?

  • Is there, within the NuLabour regime, a "Francois Mitterand" culture of using supposedly anti-terrorism electronic intercept resources to monitor political colleagues, promotion rivals, political opponents and just about anybody who those with such power meet socially ?

  • Do these recordings still exist and have they been handed over to say, the IPCC, or is it only the fact that such recordings were made which is in evidence ?

It is not a criminal offence under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000, Section 1 to record a phone conversation on your own phone, which you control the use of:


(6) The circumstances in which a person makes an interception of a communication in the course of its transmission by means of a private telecommunication system are such that his conduct is excluded from criminal liability under subsection (2) if-

(a) he is a person with a right to control the operation or the use of the system; or

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However, as the BBC report points out, in theory, a civil action for breach of confidentiality might be possible, but that seems rather unlikley to happen.

It is strongly suggested that people are informed that a conversation may be recorded for "training" or "quality" or security" purposes.

The Metroplitan Police Authority is reported by The Times as being set to investigate the scandal.

What if it emerges that their conversations with Sir Ian Blair have also been recorded ?

How exactly have these "secret recordings" emerged into the media ? Is this the result of disaffection with Sir Ian Blair (who is on a skiing holiday at the moment), by some of his New Scotland Yard staff ? Or is it media leaks by the Independent Police Complaints Commission again, who were somehow made aware of the recordin of their own officials regarding the Jean Charles de Menezes shooting investigation ?

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Posted by on March 12, 2006 10:57 PM |

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Ken Livingstone's statement of support for Sir Ian Blair, the controversial Metropolitan Police Commissione, as usual ignores the all the unanswered questions which the astonishing secret phone call recording scandal has raised. Ken's claim that it is ... [Read More]

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Comments

No surprise there then - and at least he's practising what he preaches. Bliar (both of them) would be happy if they could arrange for ALL phone calls made in the UK to be recorded.

It actually speaks volumes about the man. He clearly has no comprehension about the concept of privacy and is therefore a very dangerous man to have at the helm of the Met. I seem to recall it was I.Bliar, supported by his namesake, who pushed hard for the right of the fuzz to DNA test everyone they come into contact with and keep the samples for ever.

He must surely be up for that lifetime menace award from PI.

Posted by: atench | March 14, 2006 5:29 PM

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