Jonathan Djanogly said he “may have overreacted” to press allegations A justice minister has defended hiring private detectives to carry out undercover investigations of his aides and colleagues.
Tory Jonathan Djanogly said he acted in a bid to find the source of “malicious” press allegations made about him, but conceded he may have overreacted.
He spoke after the Daily Telegraph obtained a copy of the report prepared by Morris Chase International in 2009.
The firm said all the information gathered was obtained legally.
Mr Djanogly stressed he would “never have contemplated condoning anything unlawful or dishonest”.
The report was gathered for the MP for Huntingdon when he was shadow solicitor general.
The Daily Telegraph said it showed the MP instructed the firm to conduct “discreet inquiries under the pretext of writing a newspaper article” to establish the views of people including a former council leader.
The newspaper said Mr Djanogly hired detectives amid allegations – which he strongly denied – that he used more than £13,000 of taxpayer-funded expenses to pay for an au pair.
“With hindsight I can see that I may have overreacted, but I was being subjected to very malicious, anonymous attacks on my family”
Jonathan Djanogly Justice minister
It said one of those targeted, Tory ex-leader of Huntingdon council Derek Colley, was considering lodging a formal complaint with the Office of the Information Commissioner.
In a statement, the minister said: “Following a series of malicious allegations made against me in newspapers last year, I felt I had to act to find out who was spreading these untrue stories.
“I instructed a firm of private investigators to try to find out the source of these stories because I was extremely upset that my private family life had been invaded.”
Mr Djanogly said the findings had been sent to him “on a confidential basis” and was “very disappointed” to see the report released publicly without his consent.
“I am sorry if some people judge that I made a mistake. With hindsight I can see that I may have overreacted, but I was being subjected to very malicious, anonymous attacks on my family,” he said, adding that he paid for the cost of the investigation and did not claim it back on parliamentary expenses.
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