Channel 4 News were pushing hard to nail the Tories for running a push polling operation – Blue Telecoms – during the general election. The Information Commissioner has now ruled:

We’ve found that two small sections of the written scripts used by those making the calls crossed the line from legitimate market research to unlawful direct marketing. We’ve warned the Conservative Party to get it right next time.

The ICO stopped short of formal regulatory action because they believe the overall campaign was genuine market research. The two sections they had concerns about were not enough to trigger formal enforcement action.

Channel 4 News were hyping that the police were conducting a “significant investigation”. The police say no further action will be taken. Guido is looking forward to the follow-up Channel 4 News investigation into push polling carried out on behalf of the Labour Party by the GMB and Unite unions…