London police bugged a British Muslim lawmaker as he met with a constituent in prison, a newspaper reported. A government minister has ordered an inquiry, it said.
The Sunday Times said the Metropolitan Police’s anti-terrorist squad used a hidden electronic listening device to record two conversations that legislator Sadiq Khan had in 2005 and 2006 with Babar Ahmad, a jailed constituent who is facing deportation to the US under new extradition laws. The two men were discussing personal and legal matters.
Khan, 37, a lawyer and rising star in Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s ruling Labour Party, has tried to help the party win the support of Britain’s Muslim minority.
The US government has accused Ahmad of running a Web site that raised funds for Taliban and Chechen extremists. Ahmad faces no charges in Britain, but is wanted in the US because his Web site is registered there, The Sunday Times said.
Jack Straw, the government’s justice secretary, was quoted by The Sunday Times as saying that he has ordered an immediate inquiry.