Anthony Butcher

The Liberal Democrat Autumn Conference today backed measures to roll back the legislation that has turned Britain into a ‘surveillance society.’

The proposals include commitments for:

· The immediate repeal of the Identity Cards Act 2006
· The destruction of all DNA samples taken from those not charged or convicted of an offence
· Updating and amending the Data Protection Act
· The greater regulation of CCTV
· Review the role of the Information Commissioner


Commenting, Liberal Democrat Shadow Home Secretary, Nick Clegg MP said:

“The Liberal Democrats will make the protection of traditional British liberties and personal privacy a major line of attack in the run up to the next general election. This country needs a champion of liberty now more than ever.

“Gordon Brown has attempted to make considerable political gain by striking a new tone on civil liberties, but in reality he remains wedded to an unchanged Blairite agenda that has seen an extraordinary erosion in the liberty of the British people.

“Britain has long distinguished itself by its liberal belief in the rights of the individual against the powers of the state. By stealth, this Government has given the state unprecedented snooping powers that affect each and every one of us. It is time that these powers were rolled back.”


Full text of the motion reads:


The Surveillance Society

Conference notes:

i) The statement of the Information Commissioner Richard Thomas in November 2006 that ‘we are waking up to a surveillance society’.

ii) That an increasing amount of personal information is being held on individuals by public bodies, businesses and third-sector organisations.

iii) Concerns raised over the Passenger Name Records agreement between the EU and US.

iv) Widespread breaches in public and private sector database security in the UK and abroad.

v) The Identity Cards Act 2006, the creation of a National Identity Register, and proposals for wide ranging data-sharing powers within government.

vi) That the cost of the ID cards project continues to increase and that independent estimates show that the likely total cost could be as high as £19bn.

vii) The existence of the UK’s National DNA database, the largest in the world, which includes data on over 140,000 innocent people, a disproportionate number of whom are from ethnic minorities.

viii) That thousands of schools are collecting biometric information such as fingerprints from pupils, often without parental consent.

ix) That CCTV is inadequately regulated, even though British people are currently the most watched on the planet, with a CCTV camera for approximately every 16 people.

x) That between 1 January 2005 and 31 March 2006, 439,000 requests for communications traffic data were made and 2,243 intercept warrants were issued and that the UK is alone amongst democratic countries in having warrants issued by ministers.

xi) That the Information Commissioner has no power to restrict data-mining and data-processing requests from government, has fewer powers than his European counterparts and has inadequate resources for investigation.
xii) The Government's intention to develop an electronic children's index (known as ContactPoint) which will contain entries for all young people under 18 regardless of parental consent.

Conference believes that:

A. Appropriately regulated databases bring many benefits to modern society, including providing quicker personalised services, quicker crime detection, and elimination of bureaucracy.

B. Emerging technologies can, and should, be used to enhance rather than compromise personal privacy both in the public and private sector.

C. The National DNA database is a powerful tool for combating crime but that only those guilty of a criminal offence should have their DNA permanently recorded on it.

D. Government data should be stored in decentralised databases that can communicate with each other on a need-to-know basis, not in shared data warehouses.

E. Citizens should have access to all data held about them, and see a complete log of access to that data by public servants, except where this would compromise national security or criminal investigations.

F. Citizens should be able to opt out of data-sharing schemes such as the NHS ‘spine’ IT system.

G. Informed consent, from parents in the case of children, should be given before biometric data is taken outside the context of the immigration and criminal justice systems.

Conference therefore calls for:

1. Immediate repeal of the Identity Cards Act 2006.

2. Destruction of all DNA samples taken from those not charged or convicted of an offence.

3. The Data Protection Act to be updated and amended to reflect the nature of the modern surveillance society:

a) To ensure that all CCTV is subject to appropriate regulation.
b) To allow individuals to see any information held on them by public and private sector bodies and correct any errors they find.
c) To require public and private bodies promptly to inform individuals and the Information Commissioner’s Office when personal information is either lost or unlawfully disclosed to third parties and to explain to the Information Commissioner what steps they are taking to prevent a reoccurrence, and to give the Information Commissioner the power to levy financial penalties if there are repeated breaches of database security.

d) To require government to give the Information Commissioner’s Office notification in advance of data-processing and data-mining procedures, to give clear justifications for such processes and to give the Information Com

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