MR JUSTICE BURTON
Approved Judgment
Caroline Lucas MP & Ors v Security Service & Ors
interception/electronic surveillance where the sole or primary purpose is to
acquire intelligence about a Parliamentarian.
9. For the avoidance of doubt, the Wilson Doctrine applies equally to any
targeting under section 8(4) of RIPA where there is a deliberate intention to
select the communications of a Parliamentarian.
Cases falling outside the scope of the Wilson Doctrine
10. It follows that the Wilson Doctrine would not apply to:
(a) An application for the interception or electronic surveillance of the
communications of a Member of the European Parliament or of a Devolved
Administration;
(b) The acquisition of intelligence relating to a Parliamentarian as a result of
the warranted interception or electronic surveillance of the communications of
another person, where it is not the sole or primary purpose to acquire
intelligence about the Parliamentarian.
(c) The interception of Parliamentarians’ communications which are
incidentally intercepted pursuant to a warrant under section 8(4) of RlPA, but
not targeted, selected or examined in the way described in paragraph 10
above.
11. Although not engaging the Wilson Doctrine, exceptional circumstances of
the sort described in paragraph 10 above would also of course necessitate
sensitive and serious consideration before any proposal to progress to an
application is put forward, or the intelligence is further disseminated within
Ml5 or disclosed to an outside body.
The Authorisation Process
12. In an exceptional case where it is proposed to apply to the Secretary of
State for a warrant in respect of a Parliamentarian’s communications, the
normal warrantry procedure should be followed. Careful consideration is
invariably given to whether proposed interception/electronic surveillance is
necessary and proportionate, but in cases in which the Wilson Doctrine is
engaged, this consideration must be undertaken with particular care.
13. A legal adviser, the head of the warrantry section and a senior policy
officer must be informed of the proposed application and their advice invited.
This advice must be recorded on the Central Record. In addition to deputy
director general authorisation of the warrantry submission, DG must also be
consulted before the application for the warrant is submitted to the Secretary
of State’s office.
14. Before deciding whether to issue a warrant, the Secretary of State will
need to consult the Prime Minister, via the Cabinet Secretary.
Handling and Disclosure of Material