An emergency data collection law being rushed through the British parliament may not address concerns raised by the European Court of Justice and are difficult to justify, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said yesterday.
“The United Kingdom is one of the most well-established democracies in the world so it is a surprise to me they have not undergone a public dialogue on these key issues,” Navi Pillay said.
The draft law, brokered behind closed doors by Britain’s three main parties, will force telecoms firms to retain customer data for a year, a measure that Prime Minister David Cameron has said was vital for security.
The government rushed the proposed law through the lower house of parliament on Tuesday and plans to get the backing of the upper house, the House of Lords, in time for it to become law by the end of the week.
“To me it’s difficult to see how the UK can now justify rushing through wide-reaching emergency legislation which may not fully address the concerns raised by the court, at a time when there are proceedings ongoing by the UK’s own investigative powers tribunal on these very issues,” Pillay said.