Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will instruct the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) to publish the report on the investigation into the potential misuse or misapplication by the MMO of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000.

I do not currently intend to ask the MMO to publish an internal report. The MMO has declared to the Office of the Surveillance Commissioner that due to a differing interpretation of the law some surveillance activity was undertaken that may have required authorisation under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act. The Commissioner recognises that the MMO has put improved procedures in place to avoid a recurrence.