Snoopers' charter ruled unlawful by court
The Government’s mass digital surveillance regime has been ruled unlawful in a landmark case brought by Tom Watson.
Labour's deputy leader said the Court of Appeal ruling meant significant parts of the Data Retention and Investigatory Powers Act 2016 (DRIPA) – known as the snooper’s charter – are unlawful and must be changed.
The powers were some of the most far reaching of any European nation. They were brought in to allow the police to hack into phones and check people's browsing history.
West Bromwich East MP Mr Watson had argued that the law was 'fundamentally flawed'. He says the Government must urgently change the legislation to safeguard citizens' rights.
The court ruled it is unlawful to access personal data where there was no suspicion of criminal activity or where there was no proper oversight.
The three judges said DRIPA was 'inconsistent with EU law' because of a lack of safeguards, including the absence of 'prior review by a court or independent administrative authority'.
Responding to the ruling, Mr Watson said: “This legislation was flawed from the start. It was rushed through parliament just before recess without proper parliamentary scrutiny.
"The Government must now bring forward changes to the Investigatory Powers Act to ensure that hundreds of thousands of people, many of whom are innocent victims or witnesses to crime, are protected by a system of independent approval for access to communications data.
"I’m proud to have played my part in safeguarding citizens’ fundamental rights.”
Martha Spurrier, the director of Liberty, which represented Mr Watson in the case, said: "Yet again a UK court has ruled the Government’s extreme mass surveillance regime unlawful.
"This judgement tells ministers in crystal clear terms that they are breaching the public’s human rights."
She urged the Government to 'stop bartering with judges' and 'start drawing up a surveillance law that upholds our democratic freedoms'.
The Home Office announced a series of safeguards in November in anticipation of the ruling.
They include removing the power of self-authorisation for senior police officers, and requiring approval for requests for confidential communications data to be granted by the new investigatory powers commissioner.
Plans to launch a consultation on new additional safeguards are also in the pipeline.
Mr Watson described the safeguards as 'half-baked' and said they did not go far enough.
