Further to our article about the Jeremy Kyle show, the producers have now admitted that they knew all along that their polygraphs did not function as “lie detectors”. They say that people appearing on the show were told before the polygraph test that they were not lie detectors and that the participants were reminded of this after the show as well. These protestations ring a little hollow. What is the use of telling people this if you then put them on stage and have a presenter scream at them that they are liars in front of a jeering audience? It is hardly surprising that someone eventually committed suicide. The producers of the show must have known of this risk. They became rich on the proceeds of this long-running show and they should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
This whole incident simply emphasises the point that spies have always known – that so-called “lie detectors” do not work. It would help if the media would stop referring to them as lie detectors. They are polygraphs – which means that they measure several different responses during questioning. That is all. Any use they have in defining the truth depends on the skill of the assessor. That skill is highly variable and NEVER certain. Spies know this.