What exactly has Sir Ian done?

The Metropolitan Police Commissioner secretly recorded a number of telephone conversations including one last September with the Attorney-General, Lord Goldsmith, and conversations with senior officers at the Independent Police Complaints Commission, including one with its chairman, Nick Hardwick.

But isn't it illegal to record phone calls?

Shami Chakrabarti, director of the civil rights group Liberty, called Sir Ian Blair's actions "unconstitutional, unethical and possibly unlawful" and said: "This is covert surveillance of the Attorney-General by Britain's top cop." But she might have been over-egging the pudding.

Under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (Ripa) it is permitted to record personal phone calls, for personal use - even without the consent of your interlocutor - as long as no-one else is involved in the recording and those recordings are not passed on to a third party. Presumably, Sir Ian has not passed these recordings to a third party.

Other laws covering the issue include the Data Protection Act (there may be data protection implications if recordings are passed on to third parties), and the Human Rights Act, specifically the right to a private life.

What is illegal is to intercept phone calls without the necessary authorisation, for example a court warrant. But Sir Ian did not tamper with the phone system or intercept his own phone calls; he merely recorded them.

So he has done nothing wrong?

He does not appear to have acted unlawfully. However, many would question the ethics of recording phone calls without telling the other party. Journalists, for example, are usually told to advise people when they are taping calls, even though they do not have to.

Lord Goldsmith, the Attorney-General, was said last night to be "extremely angry" at the fact that his conversation with Sir Ian was recorded. But his office said today that he had discussed it with the Commissioner and had accepted his apology. Presumably that call was not recorded.

Why am I always told that my calls will be recorded when I phone up helplines or call centres?

The regulations involving businesses are different and companies can record your calls for various reasons, eg, to ensure that it complies with regulatory procedures. Companies do not always have to tell you if a call is to be recorded, but many prefer to do so.

What can I do if someone records my phone calls unlawfully?

Under Ripa, it is a civil matter, so you can sue that person for redress in the courts.

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