MI5 and MI6 may be circumventing legal
Most of the bulk personal datasets relate to UK citizens who are not of “legitimate intelligence interest”, the investigatory powers tribunal (IPT) heard.
The system of independent commissioners, usually retired judges, who were supposed to maintain independent oversight over these procedures had been inadequate and was a “blatant failure”, Ben Jaffey QC, for Privacy International, told the IPT.
While GCHQ has said it insists its partners adopt equivalent standards and safeguards when processing bulk data, Jaffey said, neither MI5 nor MI6 have a similar approach. “The effect will be the circumvention of the UK legal regimes,” he added. “Protections will be avoided.”
The challenge brought by Privacy International alleges that data-sharing regimes and the legal oversight system are illegal. The case has been running for three years but continues to unearth fresh details about the way in which the intelligence services handle data.
