The Bar Council of England and Wales yesterday urged the committee considering the draft Communication Data Bill to ensure protection for lawyer-client electronic correspondence. A proposed bill -- first discussed in April - could see government agencies given the power to undertake real-time surveillance on internet communications.

Database fears

The British government has already tried to allay fears that the plan would see the creation of ‘giant database’ of recorded information, but the Bar Council has argued that data gathering schemes do not provide the protection expected in a liberal democracy.
The group’s chairman, Michael Todd QC, commented: ‘For some time now, the Bar Council has called for the government to recognise the importance of, and have respect for, private communications between lawyers and their clients. So far, the government has demonstrated that it would rather take advantage of a legislative drafting flaw than protect a fundamental human right.
‘It is inconceivable that the government should be contemplating what has been described as a ‘snoopers’ charter’, granting authorities greater surveillance powers in the face of wide-ranging opposition, when the current regime is wide open to abuse.’