Bulk surveillance should continue but existing laws should be replaced, report says

A report advising government on surveillance powers has been published that suggests the government should continue bulk collection of data, but also outlines changes that should be made to the current laws and procedures in place.

The report, titled ‘A Question of Trust’, was written by David Anderson QC and published 11 June in response to the revelations by US whistleblower Edward Snowden in 2013.

Although the report suggested bulk data collection should continue, it described current laws as “undemocratic”, “unnecessary” and “intolerable” and called for a complete overhaul of rules surrounding surveillance powers.

Anderson said a “clean slate” is needed, and that existing surveillance legislation outlined in the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (Ripa) should be replaced. As a part of this new legislation, the report recommends that Judicial authorisation should be required for all interception of information warrants, which would limit the power of ministers to issue warrants. It also recommends that judicial authorisation should be required for police to obtain communications data received in confidence by people such as lawyers and journalists.

The report called for the creation of a new independent surveillance and intelligence commission to replace the three existing commissions that deal with surveillance. Additionally, Anderson also put forward recommendations regarding the power to retain website search information, which is one of the most controversial elements in the proposed Investigatory Power Bill, and said it should only be allowed where “a detailed operational case can be made out and a rigorous assessment has been conducted of the lawfulness, likely effectiveness, intrusiveness and cost”.

Downing Street have indicated that the conservative government is unlikely to strip ministers of powers to authorise surveillance warrants. A spokeswoman said: “The starting point on the issue of authorisation of warrants is that we need a system with proper oversight that allows us to respond quickly and effectively to threats of national security or serious crime. As part of our work now on the upcoming bill we will need to consider the recommendations that Anderson has set out today.”

Human rights pressure group Liberty have also commented on the report, director Shami Chakrabarti said: “This thoughtful report is in sharp contrast with the defensive whitewash from the discredited intelligence and security committee of the last Parliament. Liberty has been campaigning for judicial warrants and against the Snoopers’ Charter for many years.

“Whilst we don’t agree with all his conclusions, Mr Anderson’s intervention could be the beginning of re-building public trust in surveillance conducted with respect for privacy, democracy and the law. It is further vindication of Edward Snowden’s courage.”

Speaking in the Commons, Theresa May committed to a proper overhaul of investigatory powers that would not just be a “rebranding” of existing law. The new legalisation will need to be in place by the end of December 2016, and May has said that the government will publish a draft bill in the Autumn for pre-legislative scrutiny by a Joint Committee of Parliament.