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Buggers

February 04, 2008 00:00

I can't for the life of me see what's wrong with bugging an MP.

Let me qualify that.

There seems to be a lot of pompous rot being written about conventions and MPs' sanctity.

I express no view of Sadiq Khan, who is no doubt a fine, upstanding Member of Parliament. But I can't see why MPs should be treated any differently from other people when it comes to bugging. If it is felt by the police or security services - with good reason, and duly authorised - that it is a useful excercise to bug conversations between an MP and his or her constituent (perhaps because there is a well-grounded reason to think that the constituent might impart useful information to the MP in their conversation) then I can't see why on earth it should be ruled out in principle, any more than a conversation between a councillor and his or her constituent should be ruled out.

The fuss in this case ought surely to be over the sheer bloody incompetence of the government - that no minister appears to have known what was going on, and that Number Ten can't even keep track of letters sent to it by the Shadow Home Confidence.



February 04, 2008 00:00

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