The government has scrapped plans to push through the
controversial
Communications Data Billthis parliamentary
session and will hold a second public consultation in the new
year.
This means the government could miss its self-imposed deadline
to comply with the
European Data Retention Directive by March 2009.
It is also expected to slow the progress of the
Interception Modernisation Programme, a scheme to create a
centralised database of all electronic communicationsbetween
everyone in the UK. The government has already spent at least £1bn
on the plan, which reports say could cost as much as £12bn.
The initial public consultation on the bill finished in August.
Public reaction to the draft provisions has been heated. Critics,
including the Information Commissioner's Office, have claimed the
government is setting up a "Big Brother" surveillance system that
is at odds with traditional British values and freedoms.
Home secretary Jacqui Smith said, "Before proceeding to
legislation, 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.
"We also need to agree what safeguards will be needed, in
addition to the many we have in place already, to provide a solid
legal framework which protects civil liberties.
"This consultation will begin in the New Year and I want this to
be combined with a well-informed debate characterised by openness,
rather than mere opinion, by reason and reasonableness. My aim is
to achieve a consensus and I hope that others will approach the
serious issues posed for our national security capabilities in the
same spirit."
Smith said she wanted to make clear what the bill would not do.
"There are no plans for an enormous database which will contain the
content of your e-mails, the texts that you send or the chats you
have on the phone or online," she said.
"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."