Perth and Kinross Council’s undercover surveillance tactics have been compared to an episode of Line of Duty.
Conservative councillor Angus Forbes made the claim after hearing the authority has the power to use “covert human intelligence sources” and intercept emails.
He and colleagues were considering a paper contained in a data protection compliance report for 2022-23.
The scrutiny and performance committee was told the council has the legal power to “undertake directed surveillance and to utilise covert human intelligence sources in prescribed circumstances”.
The paper stated: “In prescribed circumstances the council also has powers under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act to obtain information (intercept) about electronic communications.”
However, Mr Forbes questioned just how far the council was permitted to go.
The Carse of Gowrie councillor said: “The appendix kind of reads in some way like an episode of Line of Duty when you talk about a covert human intelligence source, which I believe – having watched Line of Duty – is otherwise known as a CHIS.
“The bit that really struck me is the ability the council has to monitor or intercept electronic communications. And I was looking for a bit more information on that.
“It also occurred to me, would councillors’ emails ever be intercepted using these powers?”
Perth and Kinross Council surveillance threshold ‘very high’
Head of Legal and Governance Services Lisa Simpson sought to reassure councillors.
She said: “The circumstances when we can do that are very very limited and highly prescribed and set out in legislation.
“The tests and thresholds for doing that are very high. And we’ve never actually done any in the last five years.
“So, technically yes but there would need to be a very good compelling reason. And it would need to meet the legal threshold for that type of intervention.”
She said the council was required to give notice of the fact that there was the potential for covert surveillance, even if it had not used them.
“That policy statement satisfies that statutory duty,” she added.
“But we haven’t actually exercised that right in the last five years.
“The number of people who can authorise it is slim – and it’s me.”
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