Surveillance law wins cross-party support but critics claim stitch-up – The Guardian

‘David Cameron and his Liberal Democrat deputy, Nick Clegg, have unveiled emergency surveillance legislation that will shore up government powers to require phone and internet companies to retain and hand over data to the security services.

Full story

The Guardian, 10th July 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Ministers push for new legislation to track phone usage – The Guardian

‘Ministers are poised to pass emergency laws to require phone companies to log records of phone calls, texts and internet usage, but Labour and Liberal Democrats are warning that they will not allow any new law to become a backdoor route to reinstating a wider “snooper’s charter”.’

Full story

The Guardian, 6th July 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Mass surveillance of social media is permitted by law, says top UK official – The Guardian

‘Mass surveillance of social media, such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, and even Google searches, is permissible because these are “external communications”, according to the government’s most senior security official.’

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The Guardian, 17th June 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Women duped by undercover officers challenge attempt to block lawsuit – The Guardian

Posted June 6th, 2014 in disclosure, investigatory powers, news, police, spying by sally

‘Women who say they were deceived into forming long-term, sexual relationships with undercover police officers are challenging “absurd, shambolic and incoherent” attempts by police chiefs to block their lawsuit, the high court has heard.’

Full story

The Guardian, 5th June 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

PACE Code C – Home Office

Posted May 15th, 2014 in codes of practice, detention, investigatory powers, police by tracey

‘This revised version of PACE Code C sets out the requirements for the detention, treatment and questioning of suspects not related to terrorism in police custody by police officers. The revised 2014 code was laid in Parliament on 14 May 2014 and will only apply after midnight on 2 June 2014.’

Full text

Home Office, 14th May 2014

Source: www.gov.uk/home-office

Legal complaint filed against GCHQ ‘hacking’ – BBC News

‘Privacy campaigners are seeking to stop GCHQ using “unlawful hacking” to help its surveillance efforts.’

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BBC News, 13th May 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Stop and search power to be overhauled amid fears is it affront to justice – Daily Telegraph

‘Stop and search powers are to be overhauled after Theresa May warned police abuse of the power was an “unacceptable affront to justice”.’

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 20th April 2014

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Privacy in peril: Vast network of roadside cameras pose ‘very real risk’ says surveillance regulator – The Independent

Posted April 22nd, 2014 in closed circuit television, investigatory powers, news, police, privacy, roads by sally

‘Members of the public face “a very real risk” to their privacy from the huge roadside surveillance network that captures millions of motorists every day, the Government’s Surveillance Commissioner has warned. In an interview with The Independent, Tony Porter urges that clear guidance be provided to ensure “innocent” people do not fall victim to roadside automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras which have been the centre of concerns over the rise of surveillance in Britain.’

Full story

The Independent, 19th April 2014

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Schedule 7 Code of Practice – Home Office

‘Consultation on changes made to Schedule 7 to the Terrorism Act 2000 by the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014.’

Full text

Home Office, 15th April 2014

Source: www.gov.uk/home-office

User Guide to Police Powers and Procedures – Home Office

Posted April 3rd, 2014 in investigatory powers, news, police, statistics by tracey

‘This guide to Police Powers and Procedures Statistics is designed to be a useful reference guide with explanatory notes on the statistics.’

Full guide

Home Office, 3rd April 2014

Source: www.gov.uk/home-office

Violent sex assault cold case solved after a decade in one of the first ever cases of ‘covert DNA retrieval’ – The Independent

Posted March 4th, 2014 in assault, DNA, firearms, investigatory powers, news, sexual offences by sally

‘A violent sex attacker was caught when police used ground-breaking anti-terrorism powers to covertly recover DNA from a coffee cup he had used at the end of a four-day surveillance operation.’

Full story

The Independent, 3rd March 2014

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Regina (Van Der Pijl) v Secretary of State for the Home Department and another – WLR Daily

Posted February 18th, 2014 in investigatory powers, law reports, police, treaties, warrants by sally

Regina (Van Der Pijl) v Secretary of State for the Home Department and another [2014] EWHC 281 (Admin); [2014] WLR (D) 71

‘Whilst the test of substantial relevance applied equally to applications for search warrants made in the context of domestic proceedings and applications made at the request of foreign authorities under the Crime (International Cooperation) Act 2003, its application invariably differed. In context a domestic court asked to assess substantial relevance in respect of foreign proceedings would do so on a necessarily more circumscribed basis than the same court would were the assessment in respect of proceedings before the same court.’

WLR Daily, 13th February 2014

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Regina (Roberts) v Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis and another (Liberty intervening) – WLR Daily

Regina (Roberts) v Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis and another (Liberty intervening) [2014] EWCA Civ 69; [2014] WLR (D) 50

‘Section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 did not confer an arbitrary power and was compatible with article 8 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.’

WLR Daily, 4th February 2014

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Barristers tell Parliament that some GCHQ mass surveillance is illegal – UK Human Rights Blog

‘Two barristers have advised a Parliamentary committee that some mass surveillance allegedly undertaken by the UK’s security services is probably illegal. Jemima Stratford QC and Tim Johnston’s advice (PDF) was commissioned by the chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Drones.’

Full story

UK Human Rights Blog, 29th January 2014

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Police admit they should have reviewed tactic used in Mark Duggan case – The Guardian

‘The Metropolitan Police has admitted it was wrong not to review its use of the “hard stop” tactic employed in the shooting of Mark Duggan in 2011, despite being advised to do so by the complaints watchdog.’

Full story

The Guardian, 20th January 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

World’s leading authors: state surveillance of personal data is theft – The Guardian

Posted December 10th, 2013 in data protection, interception, investigatory powers, news, theft, whistleblowers by tracey

‘More than 500 of the world’s leading authors, including five Nobel prize winners, have condemned the scale of state surveillance revealed by the whistleblower Edward Snowden and warned that spy agencies are undermining democracy and must be curbed by a new international charter.’

Full story

The Guardian, 10th December 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Lostprophets’ Ian Watkins case: Ex-Ceop head warns others may slip through net – BBC News

‘Child sex abuse cases like Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins will slip through the net due to a lack of resources, a child protection expert has warned. Jim Gamble, ex-head of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection centre (Ceop), wants more money invested in regional child protection teams to catch online abusers.’

Full story

BBC News, 27th November 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Watchdog demands GCHQ report on NSA’s UK data storage – The Guardian

‘The watchdog tasked with scrutinising the work of Britain’s intelligence agencies is to demand an urgent report from GCHQ about revelations that the phone, internet and email records of British citizens have been analysed and stored by America’s National Security Agency.’

Full story

The Guardian, 21st November 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Sex in the IPT – Panopticon

Posted November 12th, 2013 in appeals, investigatory powers, news, police, stay of proceedings, tribunals by tracey

“As with all the best headlines, this one is slightly misleading. Readers can scarcely fail to have noticed the coverage surrounding the major ongoing case regarding a former undercover (under-the-covers?) police officer, Mark Kennedy, who (together with others) infiltrated political and environmental activists over a period of years. Claims were commenced in the High Court, with part of the conduct complained of involving ensuing sexual relations between activists/their partners and undercover officers.”

Full story

Panopticon, 8th November 2013

Source: www.panopticonblog.com

AKJ and others v Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis and another; AJA and others v Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis and others- WLR Daily

AKJ and others v Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis and another; AJA and others v Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis and others [2013] EWCA Civ 1342;   [2013] WLR (D)  424

“An intimate sexual relationship instigated by an undercover police officer with a member of the public to obtain information was included in the phrase ‘personal or other relationship’ in section 26(8)(a) of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000, and as such was conduct of the type which could be authorised under section 27 of the Act. Human rights claims arising out of such conduct carried out in ‘challengeable circumstances’ came within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Investigatory Powers Tribunal under section 65 of the 2000 Act. Claims in tort arising out of substantially the same facts could proceed in the High Court.”

WLR Daily, 5th November 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk