Councils using surveillance powers

Wide-ranging surveillance powers introduced to tackle terrorism and serious crime are being used regularly by councils to tackle relatively minor problems, according to figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act.

Among 115 councils which responded to inquiries from the Sunday Telegraph, some 89 said they had instigated investigations under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (Ripa) over the past year, with the number of cases over the course of 12 months reaching at least 867.

The powers were used to tackle problems like anti-social behaviour, noise nuisance, benefit fraud and dog fouling.

Some councils recruited children to go into shops wired up with secret recording equipment to detect under-age sales of alcohol or cigarettes.

When Ripa was passed by Parliament in 2000, its powers to conduct surveillance operations and intercept communications were available to only a handful of organisations, including the police and security services. But former home secretary David Blunkett extended the list in 2003 to include a wide range of bodies, including councils.

Durham County Council was the biggest user of Ripa powers over the past year, with just over 100 investigations launched during the period, according to the figures obtained by the Sunday Telegraph. Newcastle City Council used the powers 82 times and Middlesbrough Council 70 times.

Some councils told the paper they had placed houses under video surveillance, while others said council staff had followed residents to see whether they were working while claiming benefit.

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Amir (i've waited so long for this to happen) Kahn.

Well if you have been on planet Zzogg for the last 24hs then you may not have seen the defeat, so i've taken the liberty of adding it to my blog for all to see.



Hopefully now he can stop pretending to be British and bow out of boxing gracefully. It appears that he may have displeased Allah by flying the Union flag.

St Matthews Church Lincoln. Consumed by Fire

I have been personally involved in matters with regard to this old Listed Church Building for some two and a half years now. I was also the only person to highlight to the residents, that lived in the shadows of St Matthews, what events were to take place in the near future.

I organised and held two local residents meetings over a year ago now with the backing and support from a number of local residents. I made it very clear at that time what the intentions of the Islamic Association Of Lincoln (IAOL) would be and I predicted that this very thing would happen.

To this day I am 100% certain that it is because of this very prediction that St Matthews was not burned down some 12 months ago, and also as a result of my opinions at that time I now find myself as a possible suspect in the police investigation.

I have nothing to hide and it is because of this that I have decided to conduct my own independent investigation into these matters.

Please keep checking back on this blog for regular updates and findings of my investigation as I will be posting everything onto here for your scrutiny.