GIANT DATABASE MUST BE STOPPED - ÖPIK (Montgomeryshire Liberal Democrats)

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Montgomeryshire Liberal Democrats <montlibdems@gmail.com>

GIANT DATABASE MUST BE STOPPED - ÖPIK

October 15, 2008 11:48 AM

Early plans to create a giant "Big Brother" database holding information about every phone call, email and internet visit made in the UK were last night condemned by the Government's own terrorism watchdog. The Home Secretary is expected to make an announcement about plans to collect more details about people's phone, email and web-browsing habits on the grounds that the terrorist threat to Britain is growing.

The Data Communications Bill, which is to be introduced in the Queen's Speech in December, may include proposals for the creation of a single database holding all the information, which would include phone numbers dialled and addresses to which emails are sent but not details of phone conversations or the contents of emails.

Lord Carlile of Berriew QC, former MP for Montgomeryshire and the independent reviewer of anti-terrorist laws, described the government's recent track record on handling public data as an "unhappy one," and said that searches of a new database should only be carried out with the authority of a court warrant.

"As a raw idea it is awful. However it is a question of degrees and how it is developed. Searches should be made on a case-by-case basis with appropriate reviewing measures so that they can't be done willy-nilly by government."

Lord Carlile acknowledged the value of using phone and internet intelligence in fighting crime, but he said it would be wrong to go as far as the US Patriot Acts. "[They] go much further so that they [US data searches] include everyone who has made contact with a terror suspect... There must be codes of practice... In counter-terrorism collation is everything but raw data only has a limited use."

Under the proposal, internet service providers and telecoms companies would hand over millions of phone and internet records to the Home Office, which would store them for at least 12 months so that the police and security services could access them. It is understood that more than £1bn has been earmarked for the database.

Commenting, Lembit Öpik, Liberal Democrat MP for Montgomeryshire, said:

"The Government has proved time and time again that it simply cannot be trusted with confidential data. It's laughable to think that they still pretend even to themselves that any of this data will be secure, when we know for a fact their systems leak like a sieve.

"This will be yet another gross intrusion into the private lives of individuals, but will do nothing to make us safer. When I ask for evidence to show that there is a point to any of this, there's a stony silence. It's because they haven't got any answers. In the absence of data to support their project, most sane people would abandon the project. The fact the Government continues with the database regardless therefore tells its own barmy story."

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