Committee announce seminar on Private Investigators

Richard Thomas CBE, former Information Commissioner, will deliver the keynote speech, followed by a case study by two people who have been the subject of private investigation.

The Committee will invite further contributions from experts on privacy and regulation, from those subject to private investigation and from private investigators themselves.

There will be a number of individual private investigators and major firms in attendance. The session will close with a demonstration of the most up-to-date surveillance equipment.

Places are limited. For further information or to reserve a place, please contact the Committee Secretariat by e-mailing BenwellR@parliament.uk or telephone 0207 219 3282.

Chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee, Rt. Hon Keith Vaz MP said:

“Recent high profile events, such as the phone hacking scandal, have thrown light on the sometimes shady world of private investigators. Despite this the industry still remains entirely unregulated.
 
Our inquiry hopes to discover the full extent of the activities of private investigators and to decide whether the public, as well as the reputable side of the industry, should be protected by a regime of statutory regulation.
 
We look forward to discussing the regulation of private investigators at this seminar, to hearing the experiences of members the public, and to seeing a demonstration of some of the types of surveillance equipment used by investigators”.

For further information please contact Alex Paterson on 020 7219 1589

Note to editors:

• Inquiry: Private Investigators 
• Home Affairs Committee

This session is part of the Committee’s inquiry on private investigators.

1. Keith Vaz MP, Chairman of the Committee will open the session.
2. Richard Thomas CBE, former Information Commissioner, will deliver the keynote address at 11.05am.
3. At 11.20, the Jill Robinson and Simon Berthon will speak about being subject to harassment and surveillance by private investigators.
4. At 11.30, Paul Woolwich will speak about Channel 4’s forthcoming documentary on private investigators.
5. At 11.40, the Chairman will invite a open discussion about how the private investigation industry could be regulated.
6. At 12.30, the session will close with a demonstration of the kinds of surveillance equipment used by private investigators.

Source: IStock photographs