PARLIAMENT will hold an emergency debate on the Wilson doctrine on Monday amid fears that the convention designed to prevent politicians’ communications being spied upon is “dead.”

Shadow Commons leader Chris Bryant led a successful application in the Commons yesterday after Wednesday’s judgment by the Investigatory Powers Tribunal that the convention has no basis in law.

Lawyers alleged that Greens Caroline Lucas and Baroness Jones had their communications intercepted by espionage agency GCHQ as part of the Tempora programme, which monitors all electronic communications data produced in, or transiting through, Britain.

The Wilson doctrine banned the snooping unless there is a major national emergency.