E-mail to the Clerk of the Committee from
John Hemming MP
My submission is as follows and I would be happy
to give oral evidence.
There are many situations where MPs receive information
from whistleblowers and the identity of the source of that information
needs to be protected. If, therefore, there is a request for an
MP's office to be searched without the Member's permission:
(a) There should be a detailed explanation of
the request and it should clearly relate to matters other than
those covered by Article IX of the Bill of Rights.
(b) The search should be performed by two House
Officers and any material identified held at the request of the
Committee on Standards and Privileges which should consider whether
the material identified is privileged before handing over any
materials that are not privileged.
(c) A Member can, of course, voluntarily agree
to provide information to the police.
A similar system should apply in respect of
access to a Member of Parliament's email and also access to any
files or computers that they use for parliamentary business wherever
that may be. This is akin to Professional Privilege. Members of
Parliament hold a large amount of correspondence from constituents
and others. Such material is privileged when held by a solicitor.
There is no reason why such privilege should not apply to correspondence.
16 September 2009
| 
