Nuisance calls made by London MP, David Lammy for his failed bid to become Labour’s candidate for the next London Mayoral post, is disappointing to say the least.
Lammy was today fined £5,000 for failing to seek permission before sending 35,629 Labour members recorded calls, urging support for his failed campaign.
The Information Commissioner slapped him with the fine to signify the level of intrusion committed by the longstanding MP for his indiscretion. Lammy is the first politician to be punished for nuisance, but apologized unreservedly for the offence which raised eye brows. Christopher Graham told reporters that the same rules apply to canvassing for votes as apply “to offering a discount on double glazing”.
Those in receipt of calls from Mr Lammy’s, had not given permission to receive those calls.
This meant, according to the Information Commissioner’s Office investigation, Mr Lammy had broken the rules set out in the Privacy and Electronic Communication Regulations.
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PERMISSION
Mr Graham said: “If you want to call someone in this way, you must follow these rules. Mr Lammy did not, and that is why he has been fined.
“It’s not good enough to assume the people you’re contacting probably won’t mind. The law requires you to have permission before making calls with recorded messages. And if the law isn’t followed, the regulator will act.”
The calls were made in August 2015, using contact details of party members provided by the Labour Party. Mr Lammy fell short of required standards by failing to make the additional checks necessary to ensure he was able to contact the people with recorded messages, according to the watchdog.
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In a further damning criticism levied against the MP , the commissioner stated that “Mr Lammy’s team should have known there were special controls in place around calls with recorded messages. Not only have we published detailed guidance on political campaigning on our website, but we have contacted political parties directly to remind them of the rules.”
Mr Lammy who last year came fourth in the contest to be the party’s representative for the position of London Mayor, said :
He said: “I fully accept the Information Commissioner’s decision and apologize unreservedly to any Labour Party member or registered supporter that felt upset at receiving an automated call from my campaign.
“If I had known that additional permission was required to make automated calls then I would have sought it before any calls were made.”
OUTSTANDING
Lammy has an outstanding academic background, having graduated from Havard University and University of East London, and was a worthy aspirant for the post. His wrong tactics may have affected his chances and turned some members off. The grave error shows the level of enthusiasm and determination he had for the post, but unfortunately he got his tactics wrong this time. He will have to learn from this if he is to make greater strides in his moving career.
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