Court of Appeal rules UK government surveillance regime is unlawful

The UK government is breaking the law by collecting the nation’s internet activity and phone records and letting public bodies grant themselves access to these personal details with no suspicion of serious crime and no independent sign-off – meaning significant parts of its ‘Snoopers’ Charter’ are effectively unlawful.

Judges in the Court of Appeal have backed a challenge by Labour MP Tom Watson, represented by Liberty, to the Data Retention and Investigatory Powers Act (DRIPA) – a previous law covering state surveillance.

DRIPA expired at the end of 2016 – but the government replicated and expanded the same powers in the Investigatory Powers Act 2016, which started to come into force in 2017. Liberty is challenging this latest law in a major separate case, to be heard in the High Court later this year.

In anticipation of this ruling, the government has already conceded that the Investigatory Powers Act will need to change. But Liberty said that its plans “do not even fully comply” with past court rulings requiring mandatory safeguards.

Martha Spurrier, Liberty’s director, said: “Yet again a UK court has ruled the government’s extreme mass surveillance regime unlawful. This judgment tells ministers in crystal clear terms that they are breaching the public’s human rights. The latest incarnation of the Snoopers’ Charter, the Investigatory Powers Act, must be changed.

“No politician is above the law. When will the government stop bartering with judges and start drawing up a surveillance law that upholds our democratic freedoms?”

Tom Watson MP said: “This legislation was flawed from the start. It was rushed through Parliament just before recess without proper parliamentary scrutiny.

“The government must now bring forward changes to the Investigatory Powers Act to ensure that hundreds of thousands of people, many of whom are innocent victims or witnesses to crime, are protected by a system of independent approval for access to communications data. I’m proud to have played my part in safeguarding citizen’s fundamental rights.”