Prime Minister David Cameron has secured the backing of all three main parties to grant emergency powers to the police and emergency services so that they can continue to access phone and internet records, despite the European Court of Justice striking down existing powers.
The announcement stated that MPs will vote on Monday and Tuesday on a short five-clause Bill ordering phone and internet firms to preserve call logs for a year so that the authorities can see who is contacting whom.
The agreement came about on the basis that the new powers will die in 2016 and a new monitoring organisation, called the Civil Liberties Oversight Board, which will oversee the functioning of the powers and make regular reports to Parliament.
There will also be a restriction on the number of public bodies, such as Royal Mail, that are able to ask for communications data under the controversial Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA).
Civil liberty campaigners, such as some Labour MPs and campaign group Liberty, have attacked the move, saying that it will invade people’s privacy but Mr Cameron has defended it, saying that it is about maintaining existing capabilities, not introducing new snooping laws.
The legislation is primarily aimed at the companies that provide telephone and internet connections and outlines their legal obligation to retain “communications data” on their customers.
This metadata includes things like logs of when calls were made, what numbers were dialled, and other information that can be used in investigations but does not include the content of the communications.
However, the law goes further inasmuch as it reinforces the ability of the authorities to carry out what is known as a “legal intercept, which is when a target is identified for additional monitoring.