Watchdog confirms it has never audited the way intelligence services share data

The Office of Interception of Communications and Intelligence Services Commissioners - the watchdog that inspects the intelligence services - recently confirmed that it has never audited the way intelligence services share sensitive surveillance data with industry partners.

In a letter disclosed in court this week, Graham Webber, head of the watchdog, said that there had never been an inspection of how the security services share sensitive bulk databases of the population, including phone call, email and internet browsing records, which could include financial, travel and other information.

The letter was revealed at a recent hearing of the Investigatory Powers Tribunal, during a challenge brought by Privacy International. The non-governmental organisation is challenging the legality of the UK's mass surveillance of the population, which gathers highly sensitive communication data, regardless of whether the people involved are suspected of a crime or pose a threat to national security.