Tag: Lord MacDonald

Ends and means: experts debate the democratic oversight of the UK’s intelligence services

Ends and means: experts debate the democratic oversight of the UK’s intelligence services

Revelations from Edward Snowden about the scope of intelligence activities in the UK have led to renewed attempts to enhance democratic oversight of the UK’s security services. The heads of MI5, MI6 and GCHQ appeared before the Intelligence and Security Committee for the first time, while Lord Macdonald called for strengthened parliamentary accountability. In this post, we ask […]

Proper parliamentary oversight of the security services is desperately needed

Proper parliamentary oversight of the security services is desperately needed

In a recent speech, Lord Macdonald, the former Director of Public Prosecutions, was critical of the current mechanisms which oversee the British security agencies. In the speech, he recommended that the Intelligence and Security Committee become a regular Select Committee of Parliament, with the transparency and autonomy which comes alongside that status. What follows below is an […]