[privacy] How the UK leads the world on spying on its citizens

["Richard M. Smith" <rms () computerbytesman com>]

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article1409395.ece

Privacy row as checks on phones and e-mails hit 439,000
Home Office reveals figures for first time Watchdog condemns high number of
errors
Michael Evans, Defence Editor and Philip Webster, Political Editor  

Almost 450,000 requests were made to monitor people's telephone calls,
e-mails and post by secret agencies and other authorised bodies in just over
a year, the spying watchdog said yesterday. 

In the first report of its kind from the Interceptions of Communications
Commissioner, it was also revealed that nearly 4,000 errors were reported in
a 15-month period from 2005 to 2006. While most appeared to concern
"lower-level data" such as requests for telephone lists and individual
e-mail addresses, 67 were mistakes concerning direct interception of
communications. 

Sir Swinton Thomas, the report's author, described the figure as
"unacceptably high". 

The disclosures came as Tony Blair admitted that the fingerprints of
everyone obtaining identity cards could be checked against nearly a million
unsolved crimes. 

Human-rights campaigners described the twin revelations yesterday as signs
of a "creeping contempt for our personal privacy". 

For its report the spy watchdog monitored 795 bodies, all of which were
empowered to seek out communications data. These included MI5, MI6 and GCHQ,
the signals intelligence centre in Cheltenham, as well as 52 police forces,
475 local authorities and 108 other organisations such as the Serious Fraud
Office and the Financial Services Authority. Between them they made 439,000
requests for communications information over the 15-month period. 

...


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