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Report: UK Spy Requests Near 450,000 In One Year

Almost 450,000 requests were made to monitor people�s telephone calls, e-mails and post by secret agencies and other authorised bodies in just over a year, the spying watchdog said yesterday. In the first report of its kind from the Interceptions of Communications Commissioner, it was also revealed that nearly 4,000 errors were reported in a 15-month period from 2005 to 2006. While most appeared to concern �lower-level data� such as requests for telephone lists and individual e-mail addresses, 67 were mistakes concerning direct interception of communications.

Privacy row as checks on phones and e-mails hit 439,000, Times Online, February 20, 2007.