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Spies will soon have the right to hack into smartphones and computers.

Tory lawmakers are planning to pass new laws allowing a “ dizzying” range of electronic surveillance, reports suggest.

MI5, MI6 and GCHQ are set to be handed new powers to take control of devices, giving spooks access to documents, photographs and communications.

The investigatory powers bill next month is expected to infuriate privacy campaigners.

A rise in encryption software, which scrambles data, has made much criminal communication unreadable once intercepted.

Intelligence agents increasingly prefer hacking a device, meaning they can take complete control of it by exploiting vulnerabilities in software.

They can then hijack smartphone cameras to photograph targets and instruct microphones to record conversations.