The speaker of the House of Commons has reassured MPs that data
held on Parliament's computers were not accessed by police during
raids on the Tory immigration spokesman's office at the
Commons.
Damien Green's office was searched by police last month in
relation to an inquiry about a leak in the Home Office.
MPs have been concernedtheir communications could be
intercepted.
This would be in breach of the
Wilson Doctrine, established in 1966 by Prime Minister Harold
Wilson. This banned the tapping of UK MPs' and peers'
telephones.
The speaker said if the Parliamentary Information Communication
and Technology Service (PICTS) received a request for access to
computer systems it will seek confirmation that a warrant exists
and that the speaker has approved of access.
John Pugh, Liberal Democrat MP for Southport, said most MPs are
unaware that information on these systems is exposed.
John Pugh said he already uses his own secure link to his
computer system from the House of Commons to ensure confidential
information is safe.
He said: "I have no reason to believe that any information has
been illegally accessed I just assume there is this
possibility."
"This is one of the reasons why I have my own ADSL line routed
into my own server," said Pugh. "I have always assumed that GCHQ
and the police have access to whatever is on the Commons systems
and in principle it is also possible for anyone that works for
PICTS to access information on the Dell systems in the
Commons."