David Cameron appoints special envoy to preserve government data snooping

Former ambassador to US to broker data snooping procedure between government and business

Antony Savvas

Prime minister David Cameron has appointed Sir Nigel Sheinwald as a special envoy on “intelligence and law enforcement data sharing”.

The role was announced by Cameron this July, when he set out the government’s plans to introduce emergency legislation to preserve data retention and investigation powers (the Data Retention and Investigatory Powers Act).

Cameron said at the time, “A number of overseas companies have asserted that their ability to work with the UK government is being severely constrained by international conflicts of jurisdiction.

“For example, where they think they have a British law saying that they should share data, and an American law saying that they shouldn’t. So we intend to appoint a senior diplomat to work with America and other countries to address these concerns, and ensure that the lawful and justified transfer of information across borders takes place to protect our people’s safety and security.”

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