Police spying on me is very serious - if true, says Labour's Sadiq Khan.

Sadiq Khan MP

ANDREW MARR: And I'm joined by the MP Sadiq Khan now. Thank you very much indeed for coming in Mr Khan.

SADIQ KHAN: Good morning.

ANDREW MARR: I gather your wife saw the story on News and woke you up to bring you in.

SADIQ KHAN: She's an Andrew Marr fan obviously yes.

ANDREW MARR: Yeah. First of all let's, let's understand exactly what happened.

This man is a constituent of yours, someone you've known for a long time.

And he doesn't face any charges in Britain but the Americans want to extradite him. Is that right?

SADIQ KHAN: In summary yes. I mean like many MPs I often see constituents at their homes, at their place of work, at my surgeries.

Baba Ahmad this constituent facing extradition to America and I, I visited him, like many MPs do visit constituents in prison.

ANDREW MARR: And the Americans want him because he's alleged to have been involved in Taliban web sites and so on way back. Is that right?

SADIQ KHAN: That's right. As I understand it, the Americans have applied for his extradition to the USA to face trials there.

ANDREW MARR: So you went to prison to talk to him as is your right and is customary for an MP. And when you got there you had a conversation with him and you were being bugged?

SADIQ KHAN: Well I mean the meeting I had with Mr Ahmad were as far as I was concerned ordinary, routine meetings. It's only when I've read the Sunday Times today, like many of your viewers, I've seen the full details of what's been alleged. And they are at the moment just allegations. I'm not sure whether I was, we were bugged. I'm not sure what the substantive allegations will be upheld.

ANDREW MARR: If you were bugged, what do you make of that?

SADIQ KHAN: Well clearly I'm concerned. And that's why I'm pleased that the Secretary of State for Justice Jack Straw, as soon as he heard about these allegations yesterday, has ordered an enquiry. And I'm obviously as keen as your viewers will be to find out whether the allegations are true. Cos the implications clearly are quite serious.

ANDREW MARR: For those people who say well why, why shouldn't this happen, explain to us why it would be wrong for an MP to be bugged while talking to a constituent?

SADIQ KHAN: Well in the course of a normal week many MPs will see constituents who may be the victims of domestic violence. They may have very serious neighbourhood disputes.

They may have issues with their employer. They may have issues with the police. And constituents should feel comfortable about their ability to go and see their member of parliament and speak with honesty and candour about their issues. Often I ask constituents for their authority before I can make representations to public authorities.

Now if it were the case - and this is why Jack Straw's moved so swiftly - if it were the case that constituents were having their conversations with members of parliaments bugged, then it clearly means that the whole relationship and basis upon which that relationship has been based for decades, and dare I say centuries, is undermined. And you know I'm really pleased that the Secretary of State has moved so swiftly. But the other issue is this. Look, the police and the security services do a very important job.

And we should all do our best to help them do their job. At the moment we don't know whether this allegation is true. But for people to feel confident in the police and the security service we need to know whether this has happened. And that's why it's really important that we get the enquiry result as soon as we can.

ANDREW MARR: Granted that we don't know that it's true at the moment, if it is true, would that anger you?

SADIQ KHAN: Well I mean whether it angers me or not is not the issue. The issue is we need to do whatever we can to assist the police and the security services and the important work they do.

Anything that undermines the relationship between an MP and a constituent, anything that undermines the relationship between the citizen and the police and the security services obviously are serious. That's why it's really important that we calm down a bit. I've had many phone calls from constituents who are understandably very concerned.

ANDREW MARR: It's having a big effect in your community is it?

SADIQ KHAN: Well I think we should all just wait and see what the enquiry says. We don't know whether it's true. Clearly it raises serious issues.

The Secretary of State understands how important it is and that's why he's ordered the enquiry.

ANDREW MARR: Are there any circumstances in which it would be okay for, in your view, for the security services to bug MPs?

SADIQ KHAN: Well look, I don't think MPs ..

ANDREW MARR: When we think back to Harold Wilson and all of that stuff back in the sixties.

SADIQ KHAN: Especially in the context of this weekend I don't think MPs are above the law. The point I'd make is this. In the Sunday Times article, and as I understand it, there is no allegation of impropriety on my part.

And it does raise serious issues. I mean you will recall the previous prime minister on the floor of the House confirming that the Wilson doctrine remains.

And that's why I'm really pleased that the Secretary of State has moved so swiftly. I'm really pleased that he's reported to be appalled. And he is quite angry about the serious allegations that have been made. And we need to find out what actually went on.

ANDREW MARR: All right. Mr Khan thank you very much indeed for coming in and joining us.

INTERVIEW ENDS

Please note "The Andrew Marr Show" must be credited if any part of this transcript is used.

NB: This transcript was typed from a recording and not copied from an original script.

Because of the possibility of mis-hearing and the difficulty, in some cases, of identifying individual speakers, the BBC cannot vouch for its accuracy

Your comments

Disclaimer: The BBC may edit your comments and cannot guarantee that all emails will be published.