Chris Huhne Calls for Crackdown on Nuisance Calls As Election Looms

2.51.03pm UTC (GMT +0000) Wed 2nd Mar 2005

Hampshire MEP Chris Huhne and the Liberal Democrats have launched a campaign to stop illegal nuisance calls in the run-up to the General Election in Eastleigh.

Local residents who have said they don't want nuisance calls, and have registered with the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) to stop such calls, are still being telephoned by both Labour and the Tories.

"I have received complaints from people who are TPS registered, and who are angry at having had these unwanted calls" said Chris Huhne MEP, who is hoping to be Eastleigh's MP. "They are just as irritating as commercial calls, robocalls and all the other intrusions into privacy if people do not want them".

The Liberal Democrats have set up a new website - www.stopnuisancecalls.com - to encourage voters to register formal complaints when they receive nuisance calls from Labour and the Tories. Fines of up to £5,000 per call can be imposed by the Information Commission for abusing the TPS system.

Simon Hughes MP, President of Liberal Democrats, said: "Members of the public register with the Telephone Preference Service because they don't want to be called at home. Conservatives and Labour are now improperly pestering voters by telephoning them against their will.

"The Liberal Democrats are the only major party to respect their wishes. We make considerable efforts to try and ensure we do not make calls to TPS registered homes, unless the resident has previously given us their number when contacting us about a local issue.

"We think that both the letter and spirit of the law should be honoured, and that all the political parties should respect the wishes of those voters who have asked not to be called.

"From today, our new website will help people make official complaints - each one of which could lead to a £5,000 fine for the party concerned.

"It is time that the other two parties respected the rights of voters and consumers."