As reported in the Midweek Papers of the 4th August, actions were taken by the Southport Conservative Party against The Southport Party, including the direct circulation by them of a letter to many members of The Southport Party.

The former Chairman, whilst chairman of The Southport Party, was given a membership list of the party for his legitimate use during the Council Elections.

Upon his subsequent defection to the Conservatives he failed to return that list.

The use of this list for any unauthorised purpose such as contacting members of the Southport Party is an offence as defined in the Data Protection Act 1998. The Information Commissioner is required to instigate proceedings against those who break this law.

The Southport Party has been registered, as required under the Act, for over 2 years. Consequently it is contracted to report any possible infringement to the Information Commissioners for investigation. This has now commenced.

Members of the party have requested the executive to determine how their personal information was obtained and misused by the Southport Conservatives.

The Southport Party has no intention of making political capital out of this action, but it does have a duty to protect member's information

The Southport Party was founded on the principles of encouraging true democratic behaviour in the Public Arena from both the Council Officers and the Elected Councillors

To ignore this invasion of privacy would have been to condone it.