‘Snoopers’ charter’ illegal, court rules

THE UK Government has been called on to make urgent changes to the so-called “snoopers’ charter” after the European Court of Justice ruled that “general and indiscriminate” retention of emails and other electronic communications data by national governments was illegal.

Opposition politicians and campaigners have now called on Prime Minister Theresa May to amend the Government’s controversial Investigatory Powers Act, dubbed the “snoopers’ charter,” which requires communications firms to retain data for a year.

However, the Home Office made clear it would seek to defend the data law robustly at the Court of Appeal.

The ECJ ruling came in response to a challenge to UK legislation brought by Labour deputy leader Tom Watson and, originally, with the backing of Tory MP David Davis before he became Brexit Secretary.

Mr Watson said: “This ruling shows it’s counter-pro- ductive to rush new laws through Parliament without a proper scrutiny.

“At a time when we face a real and ever-present terrorist threat, the security forces may require access to personal information none of us would normally hand over.

“That’s why it’s vital proper safeguards are put in place to ensure this power is not abused, as it has been in the recent past.”

Joanna Cherry, QC, the SNP’s home affairs spokeswoman, said : “This decision of the European Court of Justice vindicates the stance the SNP took against the indiscriminate collection of data authorised by the Investigatory Powers Act.

“The UK Government must now heed our concerns and amend the Act to make it lawful.”

Lord Paddick, the Liberal Democrats’ home affairs spokesman, said the ruling proved the UK Government had overstepped the mark and the legality of the Investigatory Powers Act had now been called into question.