MPs assured over confidentiality of parliamentary IT

The parliamentary IT is secure, says the Commons Speaker

Speaker Michael Martin has formally assured MPs that police had no access to confidential material stored on the parliamentary network servers when they raided the offices of Tory MP Damian Green.

Martin delivered a special statement in the Commons in which he also pledged: "No access will be given unless a warrant exists and I approve such access."

The Speaker was responding to mounting concern among MPs who use the server – known as the "S" drive - to store confidential files required for access by staff in their Westminster or constituency offices.

They feared security had been breached by police searching for evidence of inducements offered to the civil servant or servants responsible for a series of embarrassing but non-security-threatening Home Office leaks.

Martin said the Parliamentary Information Communication and Technology (Pict) service takes security "very seriously" and "would not allow any third party to access the parliamentary network without proper authority."

"If Pict receives any request to allow access in future, it will also seek confirmation that a warrant exists and that I have approved such access," he said.