Journalists and private detectives who buy and sell personal information should be sent to prison for up to two years, the information commissioner Richard Thomas said today.
Mr Thomas was presenting a report to parliament reflecting his concern that confidential information can too easily be obtained from public and private organisations, particularly by newspaper reporters.
The report - called "What price privacy?" - offers for the first time extensive evidence of what has long been suspected: the existence of a "pervasive and widespread industry" devoted to illegally buying and selling people's personal information such as addresses, details of car ownership details, ex-directory telephone numbers or records of phone calls made, criminal records and bank account details.
Mr Thomas also believes the penalties for this kind of offence - breaking section 55 of the Data Protection Act - are too low and do not have a deterrent effect. The offence currently carries a £500,000 fine.
"Low penalties devalue this serious data protection offence in the public mind and mask the seriousness of the crime, even within the judicial system. They do little to deter those who seek to buy or supply private information that should remain private," he said.
"We are proposing the introduction of a prison sentence of up to two years for people convicted by the crown courts and up to six months for those found guilty by magistrates. The aim is not to send more people to prison but to discourage all who might be tempted to engage in this trade - whether as suppliers or buyers. Those who need or want personal information must use legal methods."
Dossier of journalists
Mr Thomas also has a dossier with the names of 305 journalists, who his office said had obtained information on people using illegal methods of this kind. Some of the individual targeted are in the public eye, but many others were "entirely private citizens".
The figure of 305 journalists is contained in the report but the names are being withheld for the time being.
It was compiled after the offices of a number of private investigators and their operatives were raided and invoices and documents from named journalists were uncovered in "extensive" investigations carried out by the information commissioner's office.
Their activities included making payments to staff or impersonating the target individual or another official.
The report has been formally sent to parliament and to all MPs on the Commons culture, media and sport select committee, which effectively puts it "on the radar" for forthcoming legislation, according to an information commissioner spokesman.
It has also constructed the tariff of charges for obtaining this kind of personal information - up to £750 for telephone account enquiries - revealed by one investigation. In another case, an agent was invoicing up to £120,000 a month for tracing information.
The ultimate buyers of illegally obtained personal information include journalists, financial institutions and local authorities wishing to trace debtors and estranged spouses seeking details of their former partner's whereabouts, according to the report.
Celebrity support
Mr Thomas's report has also found support among celebrities. GMTV presenter Fiona Phillips said: "I have experienced media intrusion into my home and family life which has caused long-term effects for us all.
"Whilst I am a member of the media and journalistic community myself, I feel there is a need to draw a line and I offer my support to this campaign to prevent the use of unlawfully obtained personal information."
TV and radio presenter Chris Tarrant added: "I welcome the information commissioner's report. It is high time that this issue is exposed - far too many people's private lives are being blatantly invaded. My family has experienced intrusions into our daily life with strangers making nuisance calls to our supposedly ex-directory telephone number.
"We had calls from members of the media, private detectives and others - all using unlawful means to try and get information. There are of course lots of interesting stories that may well be in the public interest, however it is important that private detectives, journalists and others use lawful means to acquire information."
A professional footballer, whose ex-directory phone number and address was unlawfully obtained, said: "I find it very worrying that people have access to my personal details and I was extremely concerned about what they were going to do with the information. My phone number is ex-directory for a reason - I don't want people prying into my personal affairs."
The National Union of Journalists delivered an equivocal response to Mr Thomas' comments, restating its own code of conduct's insistence that journalists "shall obtain information, photographs and illustrations only by straightforward means" but insisting that there are exceptions to this rule.
The NUJ general secretary, Jeremy Dear, said: "We never condone obtaining information by criminal means or by impersonation except where there is an overwhelming public interest.
"However, it must be understood that there are times when a journalist must use exceptional means to investigate exceptionally important matters where all other methods have been exhausted, and he or she should not be punished for this if the public interest is clearly being served.
"All of our members agree to abide by our code of conduct when they join the union and they know that we will not condone any action that does not comply with it. We also have an ethics committee that keeps these issues under constant review."
