A private company could be asked to run a huge database containing details of all telephone calls, emails and internet use, it has been reported.

The option to tender out the management of the database will be included in a consultation paper to be published next month, according to the Guardian.

The Home Office said police had to keep up with technical advances and there would be wide consultation on the plan.

Critics have said the idea poses a serious threat to civil liberties.

Former director of public prosecutions Sir Ken Macdonald reiterated his opposition to the plan in light of the Guardian's report, dismissing official claims that additional legal assurances would ensure the information is not misused.

He told the paper: "All history tells us that reassurances like these are worthless in the long run. In the first security crisis the locks would loosen."

The database, which critics claim would cost up to £12bn, is not intended to record the content of communications, but only the details of internet sites visited and what emails and telephone calls have been made, to whom and at what times.


We have been very clear that there are no plans for a database containing the content of emails, texts or conversations.
Home Office statement

Currently the information has to be requested from communications companies and internet service providers, but it is not always readily available.

A Home Office spokesman said: "The communications revolution has been rapid in this country and the way in which we collect communications data needs to change so that law enforcement agencies can maintain their ability to tackle serious crime and terrorism.

"To ensure that we keep up with technological advances we intend to consult widely on proposals in the New Year.

"We have been very clear that there are no plans for a database containing the content of emails, texts or conversations."

On the issue of private sector involvement in the database, government sources said the consultation had not begun and it was premature to speculate on what the outcome might be.

Opposition

Ministers had initially intended to legislate this year on proposals to create a communications database but dropped a planned bill from December's Queen's Speech in favour of a consultation exercise.

Opposition parties have vowed to fight the proposal, describing it as an onslaught on personal privacy.

David Davis, the former shadow home secretary, has said a future parliamentary battle over the issue would make this year's debate over extending pre-charge detention to 42 days - an issue which led him to resign his seat - look like a "picnic".

The Lib Dems also oppose the plans, describing the idea of the database as "Orwellian".




Posted: Dec 31, 2008 6:31 am