Observant MP catches bugging attempt.

Eavesdropping efforts may not always be well thought out, they could be spur of the moment opportunities. A camera recording with audio was found under a chair during a private meeting of MPs.

British sportswear company Sports Direct was being paid an unannounced visit by members of the House of Commons’ Business Select Committee. The MPs were there to insure that good working practices were being upheld by the company.

 

The MPs gave Sports Direct a one-hour warning before arriving, part of a long-running investigation into conditions at the company. During their visit, they were having a private meeting over lunch to discuss their findings. It was then that Labour MP Anna Turley spotted a staff member hiding a camera in the room where they were meeting.

Turley says a woman came into the room to bring sandwiches to the MPs, then she crouched down to hide a camera under a chair. “I saw her trying to arrange it to get the best angle so that they could video us up at the board table and listen to what we were saying.”

Responding to the allegations on Tuesday morning, Sports Direct says in a statement that it is”disappointed that reporting of a possible recording device (the veracity of which has yet to be determined) has overshadowed the truly important issues that this visit should have focused on – the true working conditions and worker satisfaction at Shirebrook.”

The company’s board also denies any involvement in the placement of the camera, adding: “The Board would like to make it clear that it did not authorize or have any knowledge of the possible recording device.”

The camera appears to be a simple GoPro Hero4 that they had been using earlier to overtly record the MPs during their tour. Someone must have thought it would be clever to hide the camera and leave it recording during the private meeting. Certainly not the first time an employee wanting to play spy creates a PR nightmare for their company.

 

 

[Read more: Daily Telegraph]

[Read more: City AM]