" New anti-terrorism rules 'allow US to spy on British motorists' "
Routine journeys carried out by millions of
British motorists can be monitored by authorities in the United States and other
enforcement agencies across the world under anti-terrorism rules introduced
discreetly by Jacqui Smith.
The discovery that images of cars captured on
road-side cameras, and "personal data" derived from them, including number
plates, can be sent overseas, has angered MPs and civil liberties groups
concerned by the increasing use of "Big Brother" surveillance tactics.
Yesterday, politicians and civil liberties
groups accused the Home Secretary of keeping the plans to export pictures secret
from Parliament when she announced last year that British anti-terrorism police
could access "real time" images from cameras used in the running of London's
congestion charge.
A statement by Miss Smith to Parliament on
July 17, 2007, detailing the exemptions for police from the 1998 Data Protection
Act, did not mention other changes that would permit material to be sent outside
the European Economic Area (EEA) to the authorities in the US and elsewhere.
Her permission to do so was hidden away in an
earlier "special certificate" signed by the Home Secretary on July 4.
The certificate specifically sets out the
level of data that can be sent to enforcement authorities outside the European
Economic Area (the EU plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway) by anti-terrorist
officers from the Metropolitan Police. It says:
"The certificate relates to the processing of
the images taken by the camera, personal data derived from the images, including
vehicle registration mark, date, time and camera location."
A spokesman for Richard Thomas, the
information commissioner, confirmed that the certificate had been worded so that
the images of private cars, as well as registration numbers, could be sent
outside to countries such as the USA.
Officers from the Metropolitan Police have
been given the right to view in "real time" any CCTV images from cameras that
are meant to be enforcing the congestion charge.
Sources said that officers would access the
cameras on behalf of overseas authorities if they were informed about a
terrorism threat in the UK or elsewhere. They would then share the images, which
can be held for five years before being destroyed, if necessary.
Last night, Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat
leader, said: "This confirms that this Government is happy to hand over
potentially huge amounts of information on British citizens under the catch-all
pretext of 'national security'."
Civil liberties campaigners said they were
appalled that images of innocent people's journeys could end up in the hands of
the British police, let alone foreign investigators.
They feared that it was a move towards the
US-style system of "data mining" - in which powerful computers sifted millions
of pieces of information as they tried to build patterns of behaviour and match
them to material about suspects.
Gus Hosein, who runs Privacy International,
said he was making a complaint to the information commissioner having obtained a
copy of the certificate.
However, the Home Office defended the powers
in the certificate, which was signed specifically for the purposes of counter
terrorism and national security.
A spokesman declined to say how many times
images had been sent from London to other countries.
However, he added: "We would like to reassure
the public that robust controls have been put in place to control and safeguard
access to, and use of, the information."
Source: [ telegraph ]
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