MPS Committee Calls For PIs To Be Licensed And Registered

An MPs committee has called for all private investigators in England and Wales to be licensed or at least registered.

The Commons home affairs committee made its call for a two-tier system in the wake of the phone-hacking scandal.

MPs heard 2,032 private investigators are registered as data controllers but industry groups claim that up to 10,000 people work as private eyes.

Committee chairman Keith Vaz said: "There are many examples of private investigators dealing in people's personal information.

"It's therefore important in our view that we should make sure that all private investigators are registered so that there is robust regulation. If they break the law, they've got to be fined more than £100."

The Home Office said it was waiting on the outcome of the Leveson Inquiry before making any decisions.

However the committees report said it believed legislation should not wait for the outcome of Leveson, which was set up to examine media ethics and practices after the phone-hacking scandal emerged last year.

Their report said: "The phone-hacking scandal cast a new light on the sometimes murky world of private investigators.

"Individuals such as Glenn Mulcaire and Steve Whittamore might conform to a certain stereotype of the private investigator, but investigation in its broader sense is a multi-million pound industry which performs many socially valuable functions."

The MPs suggested full licensing should apply to individuals operating as full-time investigators and to private investigation companies. It said employees of law firms or insurance companies who conduct occasional investigative work should also be registered.

Adding that both should be governed by a new code of conduct for private investigators.

(H/GK)