The Government’s plans to spy on the population’s bank accounts on the premise of detecting welfare fraud and error have been binned, along with the Data Bill.
Big Brother Watch said that these powers were “cruel and intrusive.”
“Following months of fierce campaigning, it was a huge victory to see the government forced to drop its plans to spy on the nation’s bank accounts.
These proposals must never be resurrected, now or in the future. The next government must recognise the immense public outcry and parliamentary resistance these powers provoked and commit to rejecting mass bank spying powers for good,” a spokesperson added.