Rogue private investigators are using tracking and recording devices easily available online to cash in on people's private lives and escape with paltry fines, the Commons Home Affairs Select Committee said.

A robust licensing system for private investigators should be set up as and the Government must act to sever the links between private investigators and the police, the MPs said.

"Personal data is easier than ever to access and a private profile of a person can be built from a desktop," their report said.

Keith Vaz, the committee's chairman, added: "The public must be assured that those acting as private investigators are subject to stringent checks."