Investigatory Powers Debate

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Thank you for contacting me about intelligence oversight, our right to privacy and the draft Investigatory Powers Bill. I appreciate your concerns about protecting personal privacy, which is why I am pleased, as Theresa May outlined in her statement last week, as well as improving investigatory powers for our intelligence agencies and authorities, this Bill will increase intelligence oversight by asking a judge to approve all warrants to intercept data, even if already signed off by the Home Secretary.

The dangerous work that our intelligence agencies do for us by confronting the diverse and very real terrorist threat this country continues to face every single day is so important in keeping us all safe. In the past twelve months alone
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We will also be creating a powerful and independent Investigatory Powers Commissioner. This will be a senior judge who will be supported by a team of expert inspectors with the authority and resources effectively, and visibly, to hold the intelligence agencies and law enforcement to account – showing that we will be world-leading with these oversight arrangements in place, whilst also respecting peoples’ rights to privacy.

I am positive that our surveillance and security is tightly regulated and scrutinised in this country, protecting both the right to privacy as well as the national security of the UK as a whole. The balance between these two things is key in maintaining the trust of the public and the safety of every member of our community and I am confident this will be maintained. As we are reminded time and time again by terrorists, this not an abstract debate but rather a very real question of how we can give ourselves the best chance of preventing attacks and saving