Following the recently renewed phone hacking allegations aimed at the News of the World, lawyer and writer David Allen Green has a useful post on his Jack of Kent blog putting the issues into legal context, outlining the laws which apply to the unauthorised interception of voice messages.
He advises that this includes Section 48 of the Wireless Telegraphy Act 2006 where a person commits an offence if they make unauthorised use of “wireless telegraphy apparatus” with intent to obtain information, and Sections 1 and 2 of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 which rules that it is a criminal offence and a tort to unlawfully interfere with any communication during transmission.
Green provides detailed references to each relevant law and also provides links to guidance by the Crown Prosecution Service.