Department (e.g., the Home Office, the Foreign Office and the Ministry of
Defence and by similar officers in departments in the Northern Ireland Office and
Scottish Government). They are all skilled in their work and there is very little
danger of any defective application being placed before the Secretary of State. I
will refer in some detail to errors which have occurred during the period under
review. Where errors have occurred, they are errors of detail or procedure and
not of substance. If there is any product obtained through such errors it has been
immediately destroyed. The Agencies always make available to me the personnel
and documents that I have asked to see. They welcome my oversight, as ensuring
that they are acting lawfully, proportionately and appropriately, and they seek my
advice whenever it is deemed appropriate. It is a reassurance to the general public
that their activities are overseen by an independent person who has held high
judicial office. I am left in no doubt at all as to the Agencies’ commitment to
comply with the law. In case of doubt or difficulty, they do not hesitate to contact
me and to seek advice.
Meetings with the Secretaries of State
2.3 During the period of this Report I met the Home Secretary, the Foreign
Secretary, the Secretary of State for Defence and the Secretary of State for Northern
Ireland. I was unable to meet the First Minister for Scotland but I did, however,
meet the Cabinet Secretary for Justice who, in reality, signs most of the warrants
in Scotland. It is clear to me that each of them gives a substantial amount of
time and takes considerable care to satisfy himself or herself that the warrants are
necessary for the authorised purposes, and that what is proposed is proportionate.
If the Secretary of State wishes to have further information in order to be satisfied
that he or she should grant the warrant then it is requested and given. Outright
and final refusal of an application is comparatively rare, because the requesting
agencies and the senior officials in the Secretary of State’s Department scrutinise
the applications with care before they are submitted for approval. However, the
Secretary of State may refuse to grant the warrant if he or she considers, for
example, that the strict requirements of necessity and proportionality are not met.
The agencies are well aware that the Secretary of State does not act as a “rubber
stamp”.
Visits to the communication service providers and internet service providers
2.4 During 2008, I visited a total of nine communication service providers
(CSPs) and internet service providers (ISPs) consisting of the Royal Mail and the
communications companies who are most engaged in interception work. These
visits, mostly outside London, are not formal inspections but are designed to
enable me to meet both senior staff in each company as well as the personnel who
carry out the work on the ground, and for them to meet and talk to me. I have no
doubt that the staff in the CSPs and ISPs welcome these visits. We discussed the
work that they do, the safeguards that are in place, any errors that have occurred,
any legal or other issues which are of concern to them, and their relationships
with the intercepting agencies. Those in the CSPs and ISPs who work in this
field are committed and professional. They recognise the importance of the public
interest, and the necessity of doing all their work accurately and efficiently, and
show considerable dedication to it.
Intelligence and Security Committee
2.5 Along with the Intelligence Services Commissioner, Sir Peter Gibson,
I attended the meeting of the Intelligence and Security Committee on 10 June
2008 for an informal discussion about our respective roles. There was a helpful
exchange of views on a number of current issues including the work of the agencies
over the last year and the challenges ahead, changes in number of warrants and
authorisations, trends in the number of interception warrant breaches and errors,
the admissibility of intercept as evidence and the Wilson Doctrine, about which I
will say more at the end of this Report.
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