Lib Dem changes to council spying powers will help roll back Gordon Brown's surveillance state.

11.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Fri 26th Jun 2009

Council leader Terry Stacy

Islington Liberal Democrats have made sweeping changes to how the council uses and monitors the covert surveillance powers granted by the Labour Government. There will now be regular, public oversight by a council committee on all surveillance operations carried out by the borough.

The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) was introduced by the Labour Government in 2000, giving over 800 public bodies, including councils, powers to use surveillance and information gathering to help prevent crime.

Councils across the country have been criticised for using these powers for trivial offences - like using surveillance to see whether children live in the right catchment area for a school.

Islington Council only last week received a completely clean bill of health from the Surveillance Commissioner, who couldn't find fault with council's use of its powers, and - unusually, made no recommendations for improvement. But the Liberal Democrats said that using powers responsibly was only a start, and that changes needed to be made to make it open, transparent, and accountable.

Islington already restricts surveillance to where it is necessary in serious cases of public protection, and only allows senior offices can authorise surveillance operations.

The new changes mean that any data gathered will be destroyed if the person is found innocent.

Most importantly, there will be regular, public oversight by elected councillors on surveillance powers, with the council's Overview Committee receiving regular reports on operations.

Council Leader Terry Stacy said:

"With Liberal Democrats now the dominant party of urban Britain, in control of councils right across the country, a critical mass of Liberal Democrats councils are taking a liberal stand and rolling back Gordon Brown's surveillance state.

"Under this Labour Government we have become the most spied-upon country in the world. After a decade of Labour rule the UK finds itself alongside Russia, China, Malaysia and Singapore - classified as endemic surveillance societies by Privacy International. It's time for a change - we're not going to take this any more.

"There are times when the council will still use surveillance powers. We've used them to deal with rogue traders selling knives to children, fraudsters, and counterfeiters. But we only use these powers where they are absolutely needed, so I shall not be afraid of justifying it to the opposition-led Overview Committee and the general public."

Liberal Democrat Shadow Home Secretary Chris Huhne MP commented:

"Until we can change the national law, Islington's checks and balances are a model of how councils can behave responsibly."