Civil liberties villain of the week: Private detective Ian Kerr
liberty central's civil liberties villain of the week is snoop Ian Kerr, who is accused of a blatant breach of the public's privacy. The private detective's career has come to an abrupt end after the information commissioner, Richard Thomas, moved to prosecute him for selling secret personal data about thousands of construction workers to more than 40 British companies who allegedly wanted to vet staff before employing them.
The commissioner alleges that firms, including Balfour Beatty, Sir Robert McAlpine, Laing O'Rourke and Costain, have for many years covertly bought details of staff's trade union activities and their conduct at work, in breach of the Data Protection Act. Seized documents reveal files on invidivuals that included comments such as "communist party", "ex-shop steward" and "trouble-stirrer".
David Smith, deputy information commissioner, said: "Not only was personal information held on individuals without their knowledge or consent, but the very existence of the database was repeatedly denied."
He goes on: "Kerr held information on thousands of construction workers and profited by checking names against his database. Trading people's personal details in this way is unlawful and we are determined to stamp out this type of activity."
As Steve Acheson, a 55-year-old electrician from Denton who feared he had been on a blacklist, told the Guardian, "it's so blatantly unjust".
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