David argues in Sun that a ‘Snooper’s Charter’ is an unecessary extension of state power

David argued in the Sun that government proposals to introduce a so-called ‘Snooper’s Charter’- which would oblige internet firms to give GCHQ access to all internet communications- were an uneccesary extension of the state’s power to monitor the activities of millions of law-abiding citizens.

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EVERY email to your friends. Every phone call to your wife. Every status update your child puts online.

The Government want to monitor the lot, by forcing internet firms to hand over the details to bureaucrats on request.

Whenever a government announces plans to snoop on British citizens, the argument is always the same — it needs the new law to stop terrorists.

But we already have a law which lets the secret services eavesdrop on suspected criminals and terrorists.

When the London and Glasgow bombings happened, the secret services were able to use telephone records to identify the suspects.

In a matter of hours. In the middle of the night. They did not need a new law to do that.

The new law does not focus on terrorists or criminals. It would instead allow civil servants to monitor every innocent, ordinary person in Britain, and all without a warrant.

This would be a massive, unnecessary extension of the State’s power.

The last Labour government tried to bring in a similar law. The Conservative and Lib Dem leadership killed it.

So why is the Coalition now trying to bring this Snooper’s Charter back to life?

Of course governments should use the best tools at their disposal to tackle terrorism. But we can do this under the current system.

If they want to see all this information, they should be willing to put their case before a judge or magistrate.

This will force them to focus on the real terrorists rather than turning Britain into a nation of suspects.

Read The Sun Article