2011 Annual Report of the Interception of Communications Commissioner
• the number of RIPA lawful interception warrants signed by Secretaries of State and Scottish
Ministers
• the causes of the communications data errors in 2011
• the number of recommendations emanating from the communications data inspections in
2011
• details of my meetings with counterparts engaged in intelligence oversight globally and in the
UK
• my responses to consultations (so far as they can be disclosed) and speeches I have delivered
on my role as commissioner
• examples of how the Intelligence Services Commissioner, Sir Mark Waller and I have responded
to demands for greater transparency. Much of this information can be found by readers on the
commissioners’ website www.intelligencecommissioners.com, which was launched in 2011
As indicated above I disclose this year for the first time in this part of my report the total number
of lawful interception warrants signed by Secretaries of State and Scottish Ministers. No more
detail is required to evaluate the work of the overseer, and any further breakdown of numbers
in an open report could be of assistance to criminals or those who pose a threat to national
security.
In a similar way I can seek to explain the oversight procedure which I use, but, for obvious
reasons, I cannot refer to specific warrants or authorisations, or to confidential discussions I have
had with those whom I oversee.
Some matters which cannot be included in an open report may nonetheless be disclosed to
Ministers and certain senior intelligence officials so that, at a time when changes are being
considered, they can have a better understanding of what is being overseen, how it is being
overseen, and the impact of such oversight. In order to facilitate this I have produced a confidential
annex which I am hopeful will be made available to that limited audience.
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