Personal data on British citizens to be swapped by civil servants

Matthew Moore
London Telegraph
Thursday, December 4, 2008

Civil servants will be able to swap sensitive data about British citizens, in proposals contained in the Queen’s Speech.

Public bodies including councils, NHS Trusts, the police, the DVLA and Government department will be allowed to share information about individuals without the need to ask Parliament. They will only need to get the permission of ministers.

The measures were criticised by civil liberties campaigners who accused the Government of bringing in a Big Brother database by stealth.

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The Coroners and Justice Bill will also ban websites which encourage people to take their own lives, making it clear that assisting suicide is an offence when it is carried out online as well as in person.

It has been illegal since 1961 to promote suicide, but no suicide website owners have ever been prosecuted for the content of their sites.

• A d v e r t i s e m e n t

The new law could also be used against those who post comments on internet chat rooms encouraging a depressed person to kill themselves. 

Full story here.

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