Poole council loses school 'spying' case

A tribunal has ruled that Poole Borough Council acted illegally in spying on a family in Dorset to discover whether they had lied about living in the catchment area of a top primary school.

The Investigatory Powers Tribunal found that the local authority misused powers it had been afforded under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act, when placing Jenny Paton, Tim Joyce and their children under surveillance for three weeks in 2008.

The council was monitoring the family to find out if they lived in the right school catchment area, following phone calls from members of the public claiming that the family did not live at the address given on a school application form.

The council has said it accepts fully the ruling.