Parker said. “It’s important that MI5 should work within a transparent legal framework”. He also said that firms like Facebook should take responsibility for passing on communications data to the intelligence services.
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UK Prime Minister David Cameron proposed a series of counter-terrorism measures soon after his Conservative Party’s victory in the general elections in May.
He said MI5 had seen people “radicalised to the point of violence within weeks” by the internet. “It’s for us to follow what’s set by parliament, and that’s what we do”, he said.
The main thrust of the 20-minute interview was to stress the importance to the intelligence agencies of being able to track communications.
He called on companies to meet their “ethical responsibility”, and alert the authorities to potential threats. “It’s in nobody’s interests that terrorists should be able to plot and communicate out of the reach of authorities”. The MI5 chief refused twice to comment on whether he was opposed to judicial oversight of his agency.
“We have been pretty successful at that in recent years but it is becoming more difficult to do it as technology changes faster and faster (and) encryption comes in”, he added. But routinely trawling through the entire UK Internet feed, as is evidently happening with the Tempora programme, is something quite different, and can hardly be called “targeted”-unless the entire UK population are suspects these days”.
“We all live our lives using our smartphones in our pockets, and the terrorists do the same and they are using secure apps and internet communication to try to broadcast their message and to incite and direct terrorism amongst people who live here who are prepare to listen to their message”.
However, he failed to say if he actually supported the initiative strongly opposed by telecoms, as they fear it would undermine their customers’ trust and civil liberties. An international agreement, whereby companies have an understanding with security agencies such as MI5, Parker argued, could be used to protect society “from people who mean them harm”.
According to him, online data encryption was creating a situation where the police and intelligence agencies “can no longer obtain under proper legal warrant the communication of people they believe to be terrorists”.
“That is the highest number I can recall in my 32-year career, certainly the highest number since 9/11”, said Mr Parker.
While the statements will ring further alarm bells of privacy, Parker insisted that only people genuinely considered to be a threat to national security are investigated by MI5.
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He welcomed the prospect of new legislation governing surveillance, acknowledging that the existing law, introduced in 2000, was out of date. “We are not about browsing through the private lives of citizens of this country”, Mr Parker said.
