UK: Phone-tapping doubles in 5 years
01 May 1996
The number of warrants issued in England and Wales for telephone-tapping and mail-opening reached its highest level for five years with 910 warrants issued in 1995 compared to 473 in 1990. The number of warrants for tapping in Scotland is not only doubled that of 1990 - rising from 66 to 137 - this is the highest number since for Scotland since they were first published in 1967.
The total number of warrants, covering phones and letter-opening, signed by Home Secretary Michael Howard were 997 over the year and by Scottish Secretary Michael Forsyth a total of 138. Each of the 1,135 warrants issued can cover more than one phonelines if they are issued to cover an organisation or group.
These figures in the latest annual report from Lord Nolan only give - as usual - part of the picture. Under Section 2 of the Interception of Communications Act 1985 warrants to intercept communications are meant to be applied for by the Metropolitan Police Special Branch, the National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS), Customs and Excise, Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), the Security Service (MI5), the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) and Scottish police forces. However, the number of warrants issued by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (RUC and MI5) and the Foreign Secretary (MI6 and GCHQ) are not published.
Total figures for warrants issued, England and Wales 1989-1994:
1989 458
1990 515
1991 732
1992 874
1993 998
1994 947
1995 997
Total figures for Scotland 1989-1994:
1989 64
1990 66
1991 82
1992 92
1993 122
1994 100
1995 138
Lord Nolan's report says "the number of warrants issued under the counter-subversion head remains very small" (MI5 now says it only devoted 3% of its resources to "counter-subversion compared to 12.5% in 1990). The number of "Emergency warrants", which are authorised by at least an Assistant Under Secretary in the Home Office after the Home Secretary has verbally authorised them, appear to be on the increase with 18 issued in 1995.
One source of embarrassment for the Home Secretary is that on one occasion Mr Howard entered the day and date and the date of expiry of the warrant but "omitted to place his signature on it." The "Post Office" accepted the warrant and did not notice for two days there was no signature.
A new feature in this year's report is that Lord Nolan is a recognition that telephone-tapping is now also carried out by private telecommunications operators especially for mobile phones.
MI5 "bug and burgle" warrants
The annual report by Lord Justice Stuart-Smith on MI5 does not give the figures of the number of warrants issued by the Home Secretary allowing MI5 (the Security Service) to enter homes or offices to "interfere" with property. All he says is that it is a "comparatively small number".
His primary concern in this report is to urge the government to resolve the different methods of authorising agencies. MI5 have to get a warrant from the Home Secretary to enter premises and to search for or plant objects or place bugs or video surveillance cameras. The police, under 1984 Home Office guidelines, simply have to get authorisation from their Chief Constable to do the same thing - what the Lord Justice says would otherwise be "unlawful". He is clearly feeling frustrated as he raised the issue with the Home Secretary "over two years ago" and nothing has happened.
The Lord Justice says the issue is "one of considerable constitutional importance" and offers three alternatives: 1) the police could make applications for warrants to High Court or Circuit Judges; 2) the police could apply to the Home Secretary but the "volume" could, in his words, place "an unacceptable burden on the Secretary of State - it is unclear why if the number of warrants from MI5 is a "comparatively small number" the number from the poli