The Government has just announced intrusive bank spying powers in a newly published Public Authorities (Fraud, Error & Recovery) Bill. The Bill force banks to flag people who meet secret criteria to the government, take money directly out of bank accounts and even revoke driving licenses.
Privacy and civil liberties group Big Brother Watch have warned that these powers will take away people’s financial privacy.
Several campaign groups led by Big Brother Watch wrote to Liz Kendall last September to drop these plans which would “represent a severe and disproportionate intrusion into the nation’s privacy.”
BBC – Benefit cheats could be stripped of driving licences
Yahoo! News – Benefits news latest: DWP to ban fraudsters from driving, Liz Kendall announces