Terror watchdog calls for overhaul of democracy-corroding surveillance laws

New legislation is needed to govern the intelligence services’ powers to monitor the internet according to the UK’s terror watchdog.

David Anderson QC, the Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation, said the UK needs rules which are “comprehensive and comprehensible”.

In a 300-page report he described the current legislation as “obscure” and “fragmented” and “variable in the protections it affords the innocent.”

UK government ministers want new rules to assist police and the intelligence services to monitor threats but critics have described the proposals as a “snoopers’ charter” – saying the plans infringe privacy.

Mr Anderson is deeply critical of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) and the Regulation of Investigatory Powers (Scotland) Act 2000 (RIP(S)A).

Police Scotland is identified in the report as being among five UK public authorities, outwith the security and intelligence agencies, with the power to intercept communications under RIPA Part I Chapter 1.

The report states that Police Scotland “expressed their satisfaction with the current arrangements” for applying for interception warrants, although some law enforcement figures wanted a system of judicial authorisation.

It makes a strong call for more transparent governing legislation, stating: “The desire for legislative clarity is more than just tidy-mindedness.

“Obscure laws – and there are few more impenetrable than RIPA and its satellites – corrode democracy itself, because neither the public to whom they apply, nor even the legislators who debate and amend them, fully understand what they mean.”

The report recommends introducing “strict additional safeguards” for interception warrants, including authorisation by a judicial commissioner at a proposed new body called the Independent Surveillance and Intelligence Commission (ISIC).

Publishing the report, Mr Anderson QC said: “Modern communications networks can be used by the unscrupulous for purposes ranging from cyber-attack, terrorism and espionage to fraud, kidnap and child sexual exploitation.

“A successful response to these threats depends on entrusting public bodies with the powers they need to identify and follow suspects in a borderless online world.

“But trust requires verification. Each intrusive power must be shown to be necessary, clearly spelled out in law, limited in accordance with international human rights standards and subject to demanding and visible safeguards.”

The Home Secretary Theresa May said the report provides a foundation for consultation on the legislation.

Dean of Faculty James Wolffe QC, described the report as a “great public service”.

Responding to the Investigatory Powers Review, A Question of Trust, Mr Wolffe said: “By shining a sharp forensic light on the surveillance powers of public authorities, the Independent Reviewer has done a great public service.

“I hope that the government will accept his conclusion that we need a new legislative code which strikes the right balance between privacy and security.”

The Report found that RIPA, “obscure since its inception, has been patched up so many times as to make it incomprehensible to all but a tiny band of initiates.”

It added: “A multitude of alternative powers, some of them without statutory safeguards, confuse the picture further. This state of affairs is undemocratic, unnecessary and – in the long run – intolerable.”

Mr Anderson’s statement and the Report can be found at https://terrorismlegislationreviewer.independent.gov.uk/