British Lions carry out bugging sweep on dressing rooms

The British and Irish Lions routinely sweep their facilities at the team's hotels for their tour of New Zealand for listening devices, chief executive John Feehan has confirmed, during an interview with The Telegraph.

Whilst there is no suggestion that the New Zealand team would stoop to bugging an opponents’ dressing room, the British Lions management team are taking no chances and having their dressing room swept for bugs.

This is really no surprise after the scandal that broke out last year when the All Blacks team found a listening device in a room at the Sydney hotel where they were staying for their Bledisloe Cup match.

"The team room, for example, is swept regularly and no one is allowed in there unless they are part of the squad, and if there is any suspicion at all they will do another sweep.

"Nothing is perfect in this life and if someone is determined enough they probably will get something, but all we can do is try to ensure that they don't." Feehan told The Telegraph.

Gerry Hall, MD of IPS who has over twenty-five years’ experience supplying countermeasures equipment to government and corporate offices all over the world and has performed operational sweeps over the same period said “Whenever stakes are high, either in business, politics or indeed sport the temptation to gain a competitive advantage will always be there, especially as now you can obtain a sophisticated bugging device on-line for as little as £50. So, it pays to be careful and take appropriate and proportionate precautions with your security.”

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