New anti-terrorism rules 'allow US to spy on British motorists'

[Guest guest]

By Toby Helm and Christopher Hope

Last Updated: 3:06am BST 21/04/2008

 

 

 

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.

 

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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.

 

 

Images of private cars, as well as registration numbers, could be

sent outside to countries such as the USA

 

 

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. "

 

advertisementA 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. "