In any event, GCHQ and the Yanks at Menwith Hill do this anyway.

They don't hand the data over to, say, the parking enforcement officers of Bromwich Council on demand though. Want to bet this information will require only the flimsiest of pretexts to look at?

I am clear that we need to consult widely with the public and all interested parties to set out the emerging problem, the important capability gaps that we need to address and to look at the possible solutions... my aim is to achieve a consensus,"

Er, when was the last government consulation that produced a result different to what they were going to do anyway?

I've already written to my MP once this month but I know he's not going to make a fuss. That guy would vote for his own execution.

In other news - did you read her speech about the 42-day interment thing? It was the parliamentary equivalent of 'it's my ball, go away, nar nar nar'.

I can't say I have, no - the woman is like fingernails on a blackboard even in type so I tend to avoid her. Have you got a linky?

If someone drafts a letter for me I may send it to my local MP, then. I have too much BeeXing to do. That refresh button doesn't hit itself.

Man, when did I become so apathetic about politics? Round about the time I became old enough to vote, I think.

Dear Frank Dobson,

Today the bbc announced this:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7671046.stm

A database recording enough of our actions to trace every member of our society. This is outrageous enough to warrant what is typically the hyperbole term 'Orwellian.' I fear that as most MPs are too old to have grown up with the internet they do not fully grasp the nature of their actions.

As my representative in Parliament I wish for you to strongly oppose this plan in every way available to you.

Please respond stating what your views of this plan are, and what actions you will take to oppose (or support) them. As, despite being a fan of yours, this is the final straw. Labours continued assaults on my civil liberties is enough to lose them my vote in the coming election, and is seriously making me consider voting Tory in the next election, despite the widespread damage it would cause, just to ensure essential civil liberties are preserved. Voting Tory was idea unthinkable until recently, but I will no longer support you if you support this plan.



Yours sincerely,
Lave Station aged 4 and a half

Does anyone seriously believe we actually face a serious threat from terrorism? We've had one actual attack from the Beardies, and the rest have been comedy clown efforts.

Spend all that counter-terrorism money on schools and hospitals instead and I'll just take my chances with the Jihaddy-waddies, ta. Rather than, you know, undermining all the freedoms we're supposedly defending.

Your MP is Frank Dobson? Awesome. I wuvs him.

I will draft something up myself shortly, and post up for people to nick bits from as well.

Also - you're missing apostrophe. ("Labour's continued...")

Thanks Kern.

Two lines in and we've got the usual "we're all going to die" nonsense, and a thought occurs:

Does anyone seriously believe we actually face a serious threat from terrorism? We've had one actual attack from the Beardies, and the rest have been comedy clown efforts.

<devils advocate>Maybe that's because our security services with their increased powers are doing such a great job. We'd probably have all been exploded by suitcase nukes by now if it wasn't for the crack team of Jack Bauers running around saving us all.</devils advocate>

Yes, those ones.

I've just twigged to the code on the side of the Spit in your avatar - awesomes!

I've just twigged to the code on the side of the Spit in your avatar - awesomes!

Does anyone seriously believe we actually face a serious threat from terrorism? We've had one actual attack from the Beardies, and the rest have been comedy clown efforts.

Dear Lickspittle,

Yesterday the Home Secretary announced plans for a huge central database to retain details of who contacted whom online, where and when.

This will constitute a database recording enough of our actions to trace every member of our society. To know who our friends are, what we buy online, what we believe in politically or religiously, what our sexual preferences are. The level of insight into our private lives this will give to the users of the database will be frighteningly wide.

The prospect of such an Orwellian tool being provided to the government raises a number of specific and important questions:

(1) Lord Carlile, the government's own independent scrutineer of counter-terror legislation, has warned that "the raw idea [of a central database] is dreadful. The devil will be in the detail." He has warned against the misuse of this database for "fishing expeditions" whereby the users of the database will mine the data, for anything of interest, no matter how minor. If this database is created, how will access to this database be controlled, and such patent misuse of this panoply of information be prevented?

(2) Ms Smith has said that "nor are we going to give local authorities the power to trawl through such a database in the interest of investigating lower level criminality under the spurious cover of counter terrorist legislation." However, a similar promise was made in relation to the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act - quote "...such legislation is required to combat terrorism and its use will be restricted to such terrorist related cases..." . As we all know, RIPA is now routinely used by local authorities in respect of such weighty matters as school catchment areas, dog fouling and use of dustbins. What assurances can we possibly have that the same will not happen with this new tool?

(3) How does the government intend to meaningfully mine the mind-bogglingly large amount of data that this scheme would amass every single day? It simply will not happen. This will create a very, very big haystack with a very small number of interesting activities and we don't even know if they are the needles the security services want. We will not therefore be able to identify new terrorist threats from this pile of data. What, then, is the point?

(4) Quite aside from the threat that this database poses to the innocent populace, I would also question its necessity. In her speech, Jacqui Smith noted that since 2004 communications data has been used "as important evidence in 95 per cent of serious crime cases and in almost all Security Service operations". Such a statistic raises the question of why more powers are needed. With Ms Smith herself stating that the current measures are actually good enough to provide a good rate of conviction, why do we need another expensive set of potentially intrusive and probably functionally useless monitoring tools?

(5) Finally, what assurances can we have that this vast store of data will not be mislaid in the same manner as the now embarrassingly large catalogue of data handling failures that have occurred under this government? The government seems unable to cope with the databases it has now, so how can it possibly hope to ensure the security of the contents of a database containing the details of every single phone call, internet access and mobile text message sent by the 60 million citizens of this country?

As my representative in Parliament I therefore wish for you to strongly oppose this plan in every way available to you. As such I would request that you please respond stating what your views of this plan are, and what actions you will take to oppose them.

Despite being a Labour supporter and a fan of yours, this is the final straw. Labour's continued assaults on our civil liberties are enough to lose them my vote in the coming election. I am now seriously considering voting Conservative in the next election, despite the widespread damage a Tory government would otherwise cause, just to ensure essential civil liberties are preserved. Voting Tory was a repellent idea until recently, but I will no longer support you if you support this plan.

Yours sincerely,

Mr Chris

That is bloody ace Mr Chris.

Do you mind if I steal that for Skeptobot? I'm going to make a guide on how to complain in 5 minutes, and It would be good to include a short and long example letter (I'll ref to you). I don't have much time today to do this, but the sooner the response the better.

Like Grim says if you agree probably best I alter it before I put it up to avoid spam copy filtering.

Beteo project indeed!

<devils advocate>Maybe that's because our security services with their increased powers are doing such a great job. We'd probably have all been exploded by suitcase nukes by now if it wasn't for the crack team of Jack Bauers running around saving us all.</devils advocate>

Be sure to properly credit him, including a link to his site (it's in his sig).

(Lave, too, but, you know).

Actually Mr Chris, for pedantic reasons, I want to release the post (and thus your letter) in the most open form possible which means giving the text a creative commons, no credit needed license, so that hopefully people (if they wish) can remix it and make it better than my initial effort then rehost it as there own work. That ok with you?

Obv you'll get the link from me though.

Can't believe there's not more of a stink being kicked up about this. Why are people so fucking apathetic?