Man behind builders' database fined £5,000

Ian Kerr, the private detective who operated a blacklist of construction workers used by construction companies to vet staff, has been fined £5,000 - the maximum penalty allowable for breaching data protection laws

The private detective traded details of 3,213 workers for profit and the sentence, for breaching the data protection act, was handed down this week at Knutsford Crown Court. Kerr will also have to pay £1,187 in costs.

The case follows an investigation by the Information Commissioner’s Office which found that Kerr held details on the construction workers and traded their personal details for profit to a number of building companies who wanted to avoid employing 'awkward' workers. In May, magistrates decided against sentencing Kerr, but commented that the maximum fine of £5,000 they could impose was “wholly inadequate”.

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