Civil Liberties - Tim Farron writes to Prime Minister demanding a list of the MPs who had been spied on

MPs have had their conversations tapped by the security services, Lib Dems leader Tim Farron claims

The Wilson Doctrine which protected MPs actually has no legal force

The British security services are likely to have spied on many Members of Parliament, the leader of the Liberal Democrats has said. Tim Farron, who has written to the Prime Minister demanding a list of the MPs who had been spied on, said the practice was likely not unusual.

"I think we are likely to see, if I get a decent answer to my letter to the Prime Minister, that many MPs have been pursued and been snooped upon over the years," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Monday.

Governments since 1966 have told MPs that their communications cannot be spied on by the security services under the so-called Wilson Doctrine.

But an investigatory powers tribunal found this month that the rule actually had no legal standing.

The judgement was made after Green Party MP Caroline Lucas and peer Jenny Jones made a complaint to the tribunal.

They said that disclosures by whistle-blower Edward Snowden had established that GCHQ was monitoring their communications.

To read this article in full in The Independent click HERE