The government is proposing to force a bill through parliament next week to require phone and internet companies to keep a record of their customers communications. David Cameron claimed the measures where vital to combat terrorism from extremists in Iraq and Syria, according to the Daily Telegraph.
The Prime Minister warned that failure to act would be “grave”, and that the proposals are being made because the European Court of Justice struck down regulations that required communications companies to retain data for police use for a year. This ruling will lead to companies deleting data over the next few weeks, something the government is desperate to avoid.
Downing Street claimed the need for the new law is “urgent”, and that there is cross party support for it. David Cameron said: “It is the first duty of government to protect our national security and to act quickly when that security is compromised.
“As events in Iraq and Syria demonstrate, now is not the time to be scaling back on our ability to keep our people safe. The ability to access information about communications and intercept the communications of dangerous individuals is essential to fight the threat from criminals and terrorists targeting the UK.
“No government introduces fast track legislation lightly. But the consequences of not acting are grave.
“I want to be very clear that we are not introducing new powers or capabilities – that is not for this Parliament. This is about restoring two vital measures ensuring that our law enforcement and intelligence agencies maintain the right tools to keep us all safe.”
The bill is likely to go before parliament on Tuesday, and will be rushed through with minimal debate or scrutiny from MPs or members of the House of Lords. It comes shortly after the government was attacked by MPs for enabled tax authorities to raid the bank accounts of members of the public without a court order.
As reported by Breitbart London the Tory MP Steve Baker criticised the move by using the words of Britain’s youngest ever Prime Minister, the William Pitt: “necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom.”
John Thurso MP claimed the government were breaking the Magna Carta.