Intelligence and security committee says small number of staff misused surveillance powers and says such action should be criminal offence

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

Spies have been dismissed and disciplined for inappropriately accessing private information on citizens in recent years, the intelligence and security committee (ISC) report on privacy has found.

The report reveals a small number of staff at the intelligence agencies misused their surveillance powers, but it is not specific about how the information was wrongly accessed.

“Deliberate abuse of access to GCHQ’s systems would constitute gross misconduct (depending on the circumstances) – to date there has only been one case where GCHQ have dismissed a member of staff for misusing access to GCHQ’s systems,”the report states.

It adds: “Each agency reported that they had disciplined – or in some cases dismissed – staff for inappropriately accessing personal information held in these datasets in recent years.”

One member of the committee, Lord Butler of Brockwell, said there were only “very small single figures of abuse” of surveillance powers by intelligence agents.

The report is part of an inquiry triggered by the revelations of Edward Snowden, the former US National Security Agency (NSA) contractor.

Overall, the 18-month inquiry has found the existing laws are not being broken by the agencies and insists the bulk collection of data by the government does not amount to mass surveillance or a threat to individual privacy.

But it also says the legal framework is unnecessarily complicated and – crucially – lacks transparency. The current laws could be construed as providing the agencies with a “blank cheque to carry out whatever actives they deem necessary”, it says.

The committee said it had been told by the intelligence agencies that all staff with access to “bulk personal datasets” are trained on their legal responsibilities and all searches must be justified on the basis of necessity and proportionality. Searches made by staff are also subject to audit to ensure any misuse is identified.

Asked about the dismissals, committee member Hazel Blears said it was extremely rare and no one should think unauthorised spying was widespread.

“We also recommend in our report that these matters should say this should be a criminal offence because we regard this as extremely serious indeed,” she said.

“If you are trying to get public confidence around privacy if someone breaches the rules there ought to be absolutely severe sanctions.

“We are not in a position today to give you the detailed information. I’m not sure we would be in a position to give you that detailed information.”

In the US, around a dozen NSA officers were found to have spied on love interests and ex-partners. The practice, known in the intelligence world as “LOVEINT” and was disclosed by the NSA Office of the Inspector General in 2013.