Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron demands to know which politicians have been placed under surveillance by the security services since 1966

David Cameron has been urged to provide a list of all the occasions when MPs have been spied on by the security services, after it emerged the home secretary would have to sign off each time their communications are monitored.

Before an emergency Commons debate on the issue, Tim Farron, the Liberal Democrat leader, has written to the prime minister and Theresa May, the home secretary, demanding to know which MPs have been placed under surveillance by intelligence agents since 1966.

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MPs have been assured by successive governments that their communications are not being intercepted by UK spies under the so-called Wilson doctrine outlined by former prime minister Harold Wilson, but the investigatory powers tribunal ruled last week that it has never had any legal force.

As MPs prepare to discuss how they have been spied on by GCHQ, Farron wrote to Cameron asking him to clarify whether he had always known this to be the case and whether all the files of parliamentarians who have been monitored are available to current prime ministers.

Whistleblower Peter Francis revealed in April that he had read secret files on 10 MPs, including Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, during his 11 years working for the Metropolitan police’s special branch.

He identified the other politicians as Labour’s Harriet Harman, Peter Hain, Diane Abbott, Joan Ruddock, Dennis Skinner, Jack Straw, Ken Livingstone and the late Bernie Grant and Tony Benn.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Tim Farron, the Lib Dem leader, has written to David Cameron and Theresa May demanding to know which MPs have been placed under surveillance since 1966. Photograph: Matt Cardy/Getty Images

Since then, Cameron has refused to say if any current MPs are being monitored by GCHQ or the other intelligence agencies.

In his letter to May, Farron said: “As you know, and as the judgment outlines, the prime minister is notified by yourself when a request that an MP or a parliamentarian’s communication is made by the security services.



“So, with that in mind, can I ask for a list of whom the government has monitored since the doctrine was brought into force in 1966.

“Furthermore, can I ask if all the files of those parliamentarians are available to current prime ministers? If they are, can I ask how many the current prime minister has accessed?”

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David Davis, the Tory MP and former shadow home secretary, said the government’s claims that the Wilson doctrine still stands have now been demolished.

“There are some in the press arguing that MPs’ communications should not be subject to any special protections, that MPs should be subject to the same laws as everyone else,” he said.



“Those same people fiercely argued that journalists’ sources should be protected when it was revealed that the police were uncovering them using surveillance powers.

“We grant protections to lawyers, with legal privilege, journalists with the protection of their sources and doctors with doctor-patient confidentiality. These protections exist for good reason.



“It is equally important for MPs to be able to communicate, not just with their constituents, but also with whistleblowers, campaigners, government sources, lawyers, journalists, policy advisers and even each other, without fear that the government is snooping on them.”