EMERGENCY laws are to be rushed through Parliament next week to ensure that security chiefs can continue to track mobile phone calls, emails and text messages.
The access to information about communications is key in fighting terrorism, says Cameron [GETTY]He insisted the laws were necessary to allow MI5 and the police to track the activities of terrorists, paedophiles and other criminals.
He said such information has been used to foil terrorist plots but could become unobtainable without the emergency legislation.
Mr Cameron said: “It is the first duty of government to protect our national security and to act quickly when it is compromised.”
Appearing with Coalition deputy Nick Clegg, he added: “As events in Iraq and Syria demonstrate, now is not the time to be scaling back on our ability to keep our people safe.
“The ability to access information about communications and intercept the communications of dangerous individuals is essential to fight the threat from criminals and terrorists targeting the UK.”
It is the first duty of government to protect our national security and to act quickly when it is compromised
The move, which Labour MPs will support, follows a European Court of Justice ruling that threatened to dilute the powers of national security forces to monitor electronic communications.
Ministers were worried communications companies could start deleting records including potential evidence of criminal activity.
The Data Retention and Investigation Powers Bill will not allow security chiefs to eavesdrop on phone calls or read emails.
Instead, it will seek to preserve their powers to record the time, dates, phone numbers and email addresses of communications.
The measures will only remain in force until 2016 to allow time for a national debate on balancing the needs of privacy with security.
Emma Carr, of campaign group Big Brother Watch, said: “It is a basic principle of a free society that you don’t monitor people who are not under suspicion.”
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