Civil liberties groups call for inquiry into UK data protection watchdog
Dozens of civil liberties campaigners and legal professionals are calling for an inquiry into the UK’s data protection watchdog, after what they describe as “a collapse in enforcement activity” after the scandal of the Afghan data breach.A total of 73 academics, senior lawyers, data protection experts and organisations including Statewatch and the Good Law Project, have written a letter to Chi Onwurah, the chair of the cross-party Commons science, innovation and technology committee, coordinated by Open Rights Group, calling for an inquiry to be held into the office of the information commissioner, John Edwards.“We are concerned about the collapse in enforcement activity by the Information Commissioner’s Office, which culminated in the decision to not formally investigate the Ministry of Defence (MoD) following the Afghan data breach,” the signatories state.They warn of “deeper structural failures” beyond that data breach.The Afghan data breach was a particularly serious leak of information relating to individual Afghans who worked with British forces before the Taliban seized control of the country in August 2021.
Those who discovered their names had been disclosed say it has put their lives at risk,“Data breaches expose individuals to serious danger and are liable of disrupting government and business continuity,” the letter states,“However, in a recent public hearing hosted by your committee, Commissioner John Edwards has shown unwillingness to reconsider his approach to data protection enforcement, even in face of the most serious data breach that has ever occurred in the UK,”The signatories cite other serious data breaches including those affecting victims of the Windrush scandal,But they say the ICO has applied its “public sector approach” in these cases and either issued reprimands – written notices that lack the force of law – or significantly lowered the monetary penalties it awarded.
“The ICO decision not to pursue any formal action against the MoD despite their repeated failures was extraordinary, as was its failure to record its decision making.The picture that emerges is one where the ICO public sector approach lacks deterrence, and fails to drive the adoption of good data management across government and public bodies.”“The handling of the Afghan data breach is not an isolated case; many are being let down by the ICO and its numerous failures to use corrective powers.”The letter warns that alongside the shift away from enforcement in the public sector, statistics contained in the latest ICO report show that private sector enforcement is also becoming rarer as organisations are diverting resources away from compliance and responsible data practices, knowing that the ICO is not going to pursue the matter.“Parliament has given the ICO considerable powers not to politely hope for the best, but to enforce compliance with legally binding orders.
As we heard from the public hearing you hosted, the ICO chose not to use these powers to address the Afghan data breach.“Unfortunately, the Afghan data breach is not an isolated incident, but the symptom of deeper structural failures which are emerging in the way the ICO operates.”The letter concludes: “Change appears to be unlikely unless the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee uses their oversight powers and steps in.”A spokesperson for the ICO said: “We have a range of regulatory powers and tools to choose from when responding to systemic issues in a given sector or industry.“We respect the important role civil society plays in scrutinising our choices and will value the opportunity to discuss our approach during our next regular engagement.
We also welcome our opportunities to account for our work when speaking to and appearing before the DSIT select committee.”
Motability scheme to drop BMW and Mercedes as it aims to buy UK-made cars
The Motability scheme to provide disabled drivers with subsidised cars has said it will remove expensive cars such as BMW and Mercedes-Benz and aim to buy more British-built cars.Motability said it hopes that 50% of the vehicles it offers will come from British factories by 2035. The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, said the changes to the scheme would “support thousands of well-paid, skilled jobs”, before the budget on Wednesday.The Motability scheme has provided support for disabled drivers for decades to help with the extra costs caused by mobility issues. It buys cars from manufacturers and leases them to disabled drivers
End the tax break that makes flying cheaper than trains | Letters
Your article (Why are flights in the UK so often cheaper than taking the train?, 19 November) states that “it can still come as a surprise when getting on a plane looks like the money-saving choice compared with taking the train”. I don’t think it comes as a surprise to anyone, given that we’ve all seen eye-watering prices for rail travel and are bombarded with adverts for £20 flights to Nice. We’ve all read the stories of people who flew from one UK city to another via Mallorca or some such location because it was cheaper than getting the train.It does come as a surprise, though, that there’s no tax on aviation fuel. I’m the director of the charity Flight Free UK and I speak to a huge number of people about air travel
European defence company shares fall amid Ukraine peace talk hopes; Novo Nordisk reports Ozempic fails to help with Alzheimer’s – as it happened
European defence company stocks have dropped at the start of trading, and wholesale gas price are down too, after officials from Washington and Kyiv held weekend talks in Geneva over how to end the Ukraine-Russia war.Last night, the US and Ukraine said they had created an “updated and refined peace framework” to end the war with Russia, after a row over an original US-backed document that included many of Moscow’s demands.The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, said he was “very optimistic” about the progress of the talks in Switzerland.Rubio told reporters:“I think we made a tremendous amount of progress.We’ve really moved forward, so I feel very optimistic that we’re going to get there in a very reasonable period of time, very soon
More than 650 jobs at risk as scrap metals giant files for liquidation
More than 650 workers face the prospect of redundancy after the scrap metals group Unimetals filed for compulsory liquidation.The owners of Unimetals Recycling (UK) filed a winding-up petition for the business on Monday, after failing to find a buyer.The scrap metals industry generates billions of pounds of revenue each year by recycling metals such as steel, aluminium and copper that can be made into new products.The switch to electric arc furnaces that melt down recycled steel has given added hope for the sector’s longer-term prospects.Unimetals was founded in 2023 by Jamie Afnaim and Alec Sellem, two metals traders, according to UK company disclosures
Reeves expected to reveal cut in growth forecasts for next five years in budget
Rachel Reeves is expected to reveal in this week’s budget that the UK’s economic growth forecasts have been downgraded in each of the next five years despite her efforts to boost output.The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has reportedly downgraded its forecast for UK growth in each year to 2030-31 as part of a review undertaken before the budget that will argue a lack of investment under Tory administrations undermined the UK’s potential economic expansion.The chancellor’s efforts to increase growth will be unable to offset annual downgrades by the OBR, Sky News reported, undermining Labour’s chances at the next election in 2029.The Treasury refused to comment on the leak. A spokesperson said: “We know there is more to do
Labour will listen to bosses’ concerns on workers’ rights, says business secretary
The business secretary, Peter Kyle, has opened the door to bosses to influence Labour’s landmark changes to workers’ rights, amid boardroom fears over jobs and growth.In a signal the government could consider watering down the overhaul of employment rights, Kyle told business leaders at the CBI conference in London that he would hold a series of 26 consultations with companies after the bill became law.“When we launch these consultations, please engage with it,” he said. “Make your voice heard and engage with me and my department to make sure we get it right.”With Labour under pressure to reboot the economy before the autumn budget on Wednesday, Kyle committed to ensure that businesses would not “lose” as a result of the changes, which include a ban on zero-hour contracts and day-one protections for workers against unfair dismissal
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England asked for CCTV footage of Tom Curry’s alleged tunnel scuffle
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