Should the Investigatory Powers Bill be rushed through parliament in the wake of the Paris attacks? David Cameron seemed to suggest so this morning, when he said that the bill was part of his ‘full spectrum’ response. Britain will be responding to the Paris atrocities, he said, and this…
‘…means boosting our counter-terrorism capabilities. We should think, absolutely, the bill we’re taking through parliament to strengthen our capabilities to intercept the communications of terrorists is a vital part of this.’
Asked if he wanted to speed it up, he replied: ‘we ought to look at the timetable’. But why? The Investigatory Powers Bill will confer no new powers on the spies at all – as No10 confirmed in a briefing to journalists this afternoon.
Our spies can already tap phones and access emails and have done for decades. They are legally entitled to go after anything categorized as a communication.
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