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.
Clegg hinted at his plans in his weekly phone-in on London's LBC radio, saying: "I think it is right to ask whether there is anything more we can do to make sure the public feel accountability is working in this area properly. There is a totally legitimate debate about the power of these technologies, about how you get the balance right, how you do make sure these technologies are used in an accountable and proportionate way." » | Patrick Wintour, Rowena Mason and Dan Roberts in Washington | Thursday, October 10, 2013
THE GUARDIAN EDITORIAL: Spies and journalism: when worlds collide: The raging global discussion about the proper limits of surveillance of the past few months will become harder to ignore » | Editorial | Thursday, October 10, 2013
