British deputy prime minister Nick Clegg is to start conversations in government about how to update the legal oversight of the UK’s security services in the light of disclosures by the Guardian that powerful new technologies appear to have outstripped the current system of legislative and political oversight.Clegg’s aides said he would be calling in experts from inside and outside Whitehall to discuss the implications of the new surveillance technologies for public accountability and trust. It is the first time such a senior figure in government has conceded that the revelations published in the Guardian have highlighted concerns about the accountability of the security services.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/10/guardian-nsa-spiesAlso see:Surveillance, democracy, transparency – a global view
The Guardian has been calling for a debate about surveillance by the intelligence agencies since Edward Snowden began leaking files which showed the exponential rise in state snooping capabilities.On Tuesday, the director general of MI5, Andrew Parker, said recent disclosures had harmed Britain’s national security, sparking a wave of criticism – mainly from the tabloid press, rightwing media groups and their commentators.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/10/surveillance-global-view-debate‘What the Guardian is doing is important for democracy’
On Thursday the Daily Mail described the Guardian as ‘The paper that helps Britain’s enemies’. We showed that article to many of the world’s leading editors. This is what they said
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/10/guardian-democracy-editors