Alexander Litvinenko murder inquiry opens in high court – The Guardian

Posted January 27th, 2015 in inquiries, intelligence services, news, poisoning, spying by sally

‘A public inquiry into the death of Alexander Litvinenko opens in the high court on Tuesday, eight years after the former Russian intelligence officer and MI6 informant was murdered in London with deadly polonium.’

Full story

The Guardian, 27th January 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Lawyers join forces with journalists and social workers to protest against government snooping

Posted January 20th, 2015 in consultations, intelligence services, investigatory powers, news, police, privacy by sally

‘The Law Society and Bar Council have joined forces with the British Association of Social Workers and National Union of Journalists to form the ‘Professionals for Information Privacy Coalition’, and express their concern over the controls in place on how the government snoops on professionals.’

Full story

Legal Futures, 20th January 2015

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Information commissioner calls for protection of private data amid calls for ‘snooper’s charter’ – The Independent

Posted January 15th, 2015 in data protection, intelligence services, investigatory powers, news, privacy by sally

‘The information commissioner has called for the establishment of a US-style agency to defend the privacy of citizens amid growing calls for the reintroduction of the “snoopers’ charter”.’

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The Independent, 13th January 2015

Source: www.independent.co.uk

MI6 forced to show how it may snoop on privileged lawyer-client exchanges – The Guardian

‘MI6 has been forced to reveal documents detailing how it may access legally privileged communications between solicitors and their clients, even if the lawyers are suing the government.’

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The Guardian, 13th January 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

A worrying new anti-terror law is sneaking through Parliament – The Guardian

‘As the world’s press and public stand vigil in support of Charlie Hebdo and the families of the victims of Wednesday’s attack, we wake this morning to reports that our security services are under pressure and seeking new powers. The spectre of the Communications Data Bill is again evoked. These reports mirror renewed commitments yesterday to new counter-terrorism measures for the EU and in France.’

Full story

The Guardian, 9th January 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

CIA torture report: Theresa May insists she did not demand redactions – Daily Telegraph

‘Theresa May, the Home Secretary, has insisted she did not request any redactions to the American report which exposed graphic details of CIA torture.’

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Daily Telegraph, 15th December 2014

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Declaration 2014: Legal Professional Privilege is vital to a fair trial – The Bar Council

‘Legal chiefs and academics today demanded new laws to stop police and security services from spying on meetings between lawyers and their clients.’

Full press release

The Bar Council, 9th December 2014

Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk

‘Dark web’: GCHQ and National Crime Agency join forces in hunt for child abuse – The Guardian

‘David Cameron will place Britain’s GCHQ eavesdropping agency and the National Crime Agency (NCA) at the centre of a fight to eliminate “digital hiding places for child abusers”.’

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The Guardian, 11th December 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Judicial reviews: a decision that’s best left to judges – The Guardian

‘The justice secretary wants to restrict access to judicial reviews, but judging the lawfulness of executive action should not be a matter for the executive.’

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The Guardian, 10th December 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Above and below the waterline: IPT finds that Prism and Tempora are lawful – Panopticon

‘The now famous revelations by US whistleblower Edward Snowden focused on US government programmes under which vast amounts of data about individuals’ internet usage and communications were said to have been gathered. The allegations extended beyond the US: the UK government and security agencies, for example, were also said to be involved in such activity.’

Full story

Panopticon, 5th December 2014

Source: www.panopticonblog.com

UK mass surveillance laws do not breach human rights, tribunal rules – The Guardian

‘Britain’s legal regime governing mass surveillance of the internet by intelligence agencies does not violate human rights, a tribunal has ruled.’

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The Guardian, 5th December 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Terror bill requires universities to ban extremist speakers – The Guardian

‘New powers for the home secretary to order universities to ban extremist speakers from their campuses are to be included in a new counter-terrorism bill.’

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The Guardian, 24th November 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Lee Rigby murder: MI5 to be cleared of serious failings – Daily Telegraph

Posted November 24th, 2014 in armed forces, inquiries, intelligence services, murder, news, terrorism by sally

‘Inquiry by Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee to find attack was random and largely unpreventable, according to reports.’

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Daily Telegraph, 23rd November 2014

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Jihadis who travel to Syria could be barred from UK return for two years – The Guardian

‘Suspected jihadis, including teenagers, who travel to Syria will be prevented from returning to Britain for two years and only allowed to re-enter if they consent to face trial, home detention, regular police monitoring or go on a deradicalisation course. The plan, agreed after months of internal Whitehall talks, has been cleared by government law officers and devised to minimise legal claims that the British government will be rendering citizens stateless by barring them from the UK.’

Full story

The Guardian, 14th November 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

MI5, MI6 and GCHQ ‘spied on lawyers’ – BBC News

Posted November 7th, 2014 in disclosure, intelligence services, legal profession, news, privilege, spying by tracey

‘British intelligence agencies have policies allowing staff to access confidential communications between lawyers and their clients, official documents have revealed.’

Full story

BBC news, 6th November 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

The Spywatcher – BBC Law in Action

Posted October 30th, 2014 in dispute resolution, fraud, inquiries, intelligence services, judges, marriage, news by sally

‘The Intelligence Services Commissioner, Sir Mark Waller, gives Law In Action his first broadcast interview.

Sir Mark, a retired judge, is charged with judicial oversight of, among other organisations, MI5, MI6 and GCHQ.’

Listen

BBC Law in Action,

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Abdel Hakim Belhaj wins right to day in court over his kidnap by MI6 and CIA – The Guardian

Posted October 30th, 2014 in appeals, intelligence services, kidnapping, Libya, news, rendition, torture, trials by sally

‘A Libyan exile who was abducted in a joint MI6-CIA operation has won the right to bring his claim against the government to court.’

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The Guardian, 30th October 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Home Office told to disclose advice behind decision on intercept evidence – The Guardian

‘The Home Office has been ordered to release secret legal advice justifying its decision to prevent intercept evidence being used in criminal trials. The ruling by an information tribunal could shine a light on the way intelligence agencies gather and store material as well as on their relationship with law enforcement organisations. The appeal for the advice to be disclosed was made by the Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law which submitted a Freedom of Information request to uncover the reasoning behind a 2009 report, entitled “Intercept as Evidence”.’

Full story

The Guardian, 16th October 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Commission criticised for withholding information on UK internet surveillance – OUT-LAW.com

Posted October 13th, 2014 in disclosure, documents, EC law, intelligence services, internet, news, ombudsmen by sally

‘The European Commission must publish documents containing information about the UK’s communications surveillance operations or “properly justify” its reasons not to do so, an EU watchdog has said.’

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 10th October 2014

Source: www.out-law.com

National Crime Agency director general: UK snooping powers are too weak – The Guardian

‘Britons must accept a greater loss of digital freedoms in return for greater safety from serious criminals and terrorists in the internet age, according to the country’s top law enforcement officer.’

Full story

The Guardian, 7th October 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk