Information watchdog slaps £5k penalty on MP over nuisance calling

A London MP, David Lammy, has been hit with a £5,000 monetary penalty by the Information Commissioner’s Office after he instigated the making of 35,629 calls over two days.

The calls played a recorded message to registered Labour party members urging them to back Lammy’s campaign to be named the candidate for London Mayor. The MP had received the members’ details from the party.

The ICO said calls that play a recorded message must only be made to people who have given the organisation their permission to receive this type of call.

The watchdog’s investigation found the MP did not have such permission, and so had broken the rules set out in the Privacy and Electronic Communication Regulations. The monetary penalty notice can be viewed here.

Information Commissioner Christopher Graham said: “The rules apply to political groups canvassing for votes in the same way they apply to salespeople offering a discount on double glazing. If you want to call someone in this way, you must follow these rules. Mr Lammy did not, and that is why he has been fined.

“It’s not good enough to assume the people you’re contacting probably won’t mind. The law requires you to have permission before making calls with recorded messages. And if the law isn’t followed, the regulator will act.”

The ICO called on political parties to “take note and follow the rules” in the run up to the EU referendum and elections for the devolved assemblies and English local government.

Christopher Graham added: “Mr Lammy’s team should have known there were special controls in place around calls with recorded messages. Not only have we published detailed guidance on political campaigning on our website, but we have contacted political parties directly to remind them of the rules.”

The ICO said the company the MP used to make the calls on his behalf routinely advised prospective customers of their obligations.

In December last year the watchdog fined the Telegraph Media Group £30,000 for sending hundreds of thousands of emails on the day of the general election urging readers to vote Conservative.

The ICO also required the Better Together Campaign in November 2013 (in the run-up to the Scottish Referendum) to sign an undertaking after it sent 300,000 text messages to individuals without adequately checking whether they had consented to being contacted.