Annual Report of the
Interception of Communications
Commissioner for 2004
Introduction
1. I was appointed the Interception of Communications Commissioner on
11 April 2000 under the provisions of the Interception of Communications Act
1985, and as from 2 October 2000 under section 57 of the Regulation of
Investigatory Powers Act 2000. At the invitation of the Prime Minister I was
re-appointed as the Interception of Communications Commissioner until 10 April
2006. This is my sixth, and final, annual report as Commissioner and covers the
period 1 January 2005 to 31 March 2006.
2. My successor as Commissioner, the Right Honourable Sir Paul Kennedy
was appointed by the Prime Minister on 11 April 2006, and I warmly welcome his
appointment. I agreed with Sir Paul to support him for a period in order to
introduce him to the work and to complete my final annual report. Since 11 April
2006, Sir Paul and I have engaged together in a complete round of inspections of
all the Agencies set out in section 6(2) of RIPA, and all the major Communication
Service Providers (CSPs) engaged in this work, and we have, in addition, had a
number of meetings with representatives of the Agencies to deal with issues that
have arisen since his appointment.
3. I have followed the same practice as in previous years of giving as much
information as I can in the first part of my Report. Over the past six years I have
from time to time been subjected to criticism in the media for being oversecretive. I understand this criticism and, in many ways I would wish to be more
open and transparent, but when dealing with work which is by its nature secret,
that is not always possible. Balancing the requirements of secrecy with a desire
for transparency is difficult to achieve. I am conscious that my Reports may
appear to be bland, but I have made them as open as is possible in the
circumstances, and this year the Report will be rather fuller on some issues than
it has been in previous years. Those matters which cannot be fully explained
without disclosing sensitive information relating to particular Agencies or to
individuals concerned are contained in the Confidential Annex.
Functions of the Commissioner
4. The coming into force of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000
(RIPA) on 2 October 2000 coincided with the coming into force of the Human
Rights Act 1998 (HRA) which incorporated the European Convention on Human
Rights into UK law. These two important pieces of legislation brought about a
number of changes in the law and in the practice of those responsible for the
lawful interception of communications. Insofar as it is humanly possible to be, I
am satisfied that those responsible are fully conversant with the legislation, and
that their practices and procedures comply with it.
5. As I have detailed in previous Reports, my functions as Commissioner are
set out in section 57 of the Act and, for ease of reference, are as follows:
●
To keep under review the carrying out by the Secretary of State of the
functions conferred on him by sections 1 to 11 of RIPA and the adequacy of
any arrangements made for the purpose of sections 15 and 16 of RIPA.
●
To keep under review the exercise and performance by the Secretary of State
of the powers and duties conferred or imposed by or under Chapter II of Part
I (the acquisition and disclosure of communications data).
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