Westminster Diary

I AM seldom surprised by the level of public protest directed at MPs, and
anything to do with animal research tends to head the list. But I was taken
aback by public anger at a controversial new law that went through Parliament
recently. The Regulation of Investigatory Powers (RIP) Act extends the
telephone-tapping powers of government departments to cover electronic
communications. And it’s not just the usual suspects among civil liberty groups
who are complaining. Now people in industry are up in arms that the RIP act
gives the Government Communications Headquarters at Cheltenham the right to spy
on domestic…