New anti-terrorism rules 'allow US to spy on British motorists'

[sabra]

Source: The Daily Telegraph

Routine journeys carried out by millions of British motorists can be monitored by authorities in the United States and other enforcement agencies across the world under anti-terrorism rules introduced discreetly by Jacqui Smith.

The discovery that images of cars captured on road-side cameras, and "personal data" derived from them, including number plates, can be sent overseas, has angered MPs and civil liberties groups concerned by the increasing use of "Big Brother" surveillance tactics.

Images captured by road-side cameras will be made available to foreign authorities
Images of private cars, as well as registration numbers, could be sent outside to countries such as the USA

Yesterday, politicians and civil liberties groups accused the Home Secretary of keeping the plans to export pictures secret from Parliament when she announced last year that British anti-terrorism police could access "real time" images from cameras used in the running of London's congestion charge.

A statement by Miss Smith to Parliament on July 17, 2007, detailing the exemptions for police from the 1998 Data Protection Act, did not mention other changes that would permit material to be sent outside the European Economic Area (EEA) to the authorities in the US and elsewhere.

Her permission to do so was hidden away in an earlier "special certificate" signed by the Home Secretary on July 4.

Read more: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/04/21/nspy121.xml&DCMP=EMC-new_21042008

[acmavm]

1. Golly, it's almost as if we ran Great Britain now, isn't it?

That's NOT good.

[vinylsolution]

2. A Nation of sheep

They always try out this Big Brother stuff in Britain first, then it eventually comes here. You can bet that some GOP fascist is drooling at the thought of monitoring all of us as we sit in freeway gridlock every morning.

The worst part is that the Brits will just lie down and accept this crap - every time. If you want to see a nightmare vision of a surveillance society, take a trip to Britain. And be prepared to be filmed by over 500 'security' cameras every single day you're there.

Tony @#$%& Blair lives on, or so it seems. Maybe John Major wasn't so bad after all....

[truebrit71]

3. Wow....

..is it V for Vendetta time yet?

Talk about a government no longer scared of its' people...

I thought the Poodle was gone...???

The only question is by how large of a margin will the Conservatives beat Labour in the next GE?

Brownie and his gang couldn't fight their way out of a wet paper bag...

[OKthatsIT]

4. The Brits have been 'watching' US since the Clinton years

Because we had privacy laws that the Clinton administration needed to get around.

Epshelon was in full operation in the US during the 90's through British intelligence partnership.

So this cushy partnership is really old news, if you had been paying attention.