Theresa May defends internet surveillance plans dubbed 'snooper's charter' by opponents
Monday 03 December 2012
Related articles
Lives will be saved by new internet powers allowing security services and police to snoop on emails, web visits and social networking sites, Home Secretary Theresa May has said.
Under the proposals, internet providers and other information service providers will be required to retain records of all communications, to which police and security services will have access, for 12 months.
The powers will help to tackle serious organised crime and help police track paedophiles, terrorists and criminals, she told The Sun.
She said: "People who say they are against this bill need to look victims of serious crime, terrorism and child sex offences in the eye and tell them why they're not prepared to give the police the powers they need to protect the public.
"Anybody who is against this bill is putting politics before people's lives.
"We would certainly see criminals going free as a result of this."
She added that the bill is not a "snoopers' charter".
"It is absolutely not government wanting to read everybody's emails - we will not be looking at every web page everybody has looked at."
Police, the security services, the new National Crime Agency and HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will be able to access the data, but the draft Communications Data Bill also gives the Home Secretary the power to extend access to others, such as the UKBA.
Latest in News
From the blogs
Secondary breast cancer: Awareness works
I hear from people that they are sick of reading about cancer in the papers and surely everyone know...
So Susie Boniface is ‘Fleet Street Fox’: what a surprise
In a blaze of publicity, one of Britain’s most widely-read anonymous bloggers, Fleet Street Fox, has...
Tactics Talk: Everton’s over-reliance on Marouane Fellaini bordered on ridiculous against Manchester United
Recent meetings between Manchester United and Everton have been well documented and David Moyes’ si...
“It is kind of you to warn me about the Jews”
Best thing I’ve read all year was Daniel Finkelstein in The Times, 30 January, in response to ...
-
The truth about Romania's gypsies: Not coming over here, not stealing our jobs
-
Brazil's carnivals burst into life with a dash of celebrity as five day party gets started on the streets of Rio de Janeiro
-
Horsemeat found in British supermarkets 'may be donkey'
-
Deepening mystery of the Irish tycoon’s eight months ‘in the hands of kidnappers’
-
Italy hails 'an outbreak of modernity in the Church' as Pope Benedict XVI announces he will resign because of ill health
- 1 Quentin Tarantino's interview outburst tarnishes violent cinema
- 2 An arachnophobe's worst nightmare? It’s 'raining spiders' in Brazil
- 3 Horsemeat found in British supermarkets 'may be donkey'
- 4 'I still love you': Taylor Swift fakes British accent to mock Harry Styles at the Grammys
- 5 In pictures: The stars who broke the 'no buttocks, breasts or thongs' rules at the Grammys
The Year of the Snake
Here's the Amoy guide to where London’s population of 100,000 Chinese eat, party, shop and live.
Win a spectacular 10-day holiday to New York State
This is your chance to win the New York State Adventure of a lifetime.
Win a five-star York break for two
Enjoy a luxury two-day stay in gorgeous York, at the five-star Cedar Court Grand Hotel and Spa.
Win a fabulous 12-night US holiday for two
Take the Great American Road trip across Virginia, Maryland and Washington, DC
Enter the latest Independent competitions
Win anything from gadgets to five-star holidays on our competitions and offers page.
Business videos from commercial thought leaders
Watch the best in the business world give their insights into the world of business.
Independent Dating
iJobs General
Flex Front Office Developer
£55000 - £65000 per annum: Real Staffing: This is an opportunity for a very ta...
Software Developer
£55000 - £58000 per annum: Real Staffing: C# Developer - WPF, SQL Scripting an...
C# Treasury Project
£40000 - £70000 per annum: Real Staffing: The bank in question requires C# 5 ...
Electronics Test Engineer - Milton Keynes - £35,000 + Benefits
£25000 - £35000 per annum + Benefits: Computer Futures: I am currently looking...
Comments