PM Theresa May forces Brexit Minister David Davis to end attack on Snooper’s Charter following Cabinet promotion
Former backbencher repeatedly clashed with May over issues on spook reform and Iraq when she was Home Secretary
Brexit Secretary David Davis has been forced to drop his fierce backbench anti-government campaigns on spook reform and Iraq, just days after joining the Cabinet.
Despite co-sponsoring a legal challenge to the Data Retention and Investigatory Powers Act — nicknamed the Snooper’s Charter — Mr Davis is now gagged by collective Cabinet Responsibility in his new job.
Yesterday the European Court of Justice clarified on the back of his challenge that it was only legal to harvest data from telephone calls and emails to tackle “serious crime.”
Mr Davis has also distanced himself from a potential legal challenge on “government officials” by the families of soldiers killed in Iraq.
Having previously been involved “at a parliamentary level” with the Iraq War Families Campaign Group, yesterday the group said Mr Davis was “kept abreast of the campaign, but is obviously very busy these days.”
It came as they launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise funds to pursue legal action against Tony Blair and leading government officials.
Relatives of British Iraq War dead have raised more than £40,000 just hours after launching their online appeal.
The action was prompted by the Chilcot report that tore into former prime minister Mr Blair, other leading politicians and senior officials over the conflict that killed 179 British soldiers.
Roger Bacon, whose son Major Matthew Bacon was killed by a roadside bomb in Basra in September 2005, is one of those backing the campaign said last night that the funds would help with “bringing people to book”.
Mr Davis had hosted the group in Parliament as recently as April.
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He had also recently teamed up with Labour Deputy Leader Tom Watson to try challenge government’s new powers to retain phone and computer data under European law.
At a preliminary hearing, the ECJ’s advocate general ruled yesterday: “Solely the fight against serious crime is an objective in the general interest that is capable of justifying a general obligation to retain data, whereas combating ordinary offences… are not.”
Last night Mr Watson said: “This legal opinion shows the Prime Minister was wrong to pass legislation when she was Home Secretary that allows the state to access huge amounts of personal data without evidence of criminality or wrongdoing.”
He added: “The security services have an important job to do, but judicial oversight is vital if we are to maintain the right balance between civil liberties and state power.”
Mr Davis refused to comment.