EU plans ‘give police spy powers’

THE MIRROR

European police would have "free rein" to spy on Britons and demand their DNA under plans being considered by the Home Office this week, campaigners have said.

The power would allow prosecutors from any European Union country to place people under surveillance, bug telephone conversations, and monitor bank accounts. It could also lead to disproportionate requests, with demands for the DNA of British tourists if there was a serious crime in a resort they had visited.

The UK must decide whether to opt in or out of the European Investigation Order (EIO) by July 28, the Home Office said.
Jago Russell, chief executive of campaign group Fair Trials International (FTI), said: "Police officers from Portugal to Poland would have free rein to demand recordings of our private conversations, copies of our bank statements and even our DNA."

Also reported in the London Evening Standard and the Daily Express