We are developing the social individualist meta-context for the future. From the very serious to the extremely frivolous... lets see what is on the mind of the Samizdata people.

Samizdata, derived from Samizdat /n. - a system of clandestine publication of banned literature in the USSR [Russ.,= self-publishing house]

Not such a little list

Here’s an interesting list, from Saturday’s Telegraph:

These are the agencies able to run surveillance operations or “covert human intelligence sources”, for example agents, informants and undercover officers – people allowed to authorise are in brackets:

It starts with “Any police force (superintendent/inspector if urgent)” and it ends with “Royal Pharmaceutical Society (fitness to practice dir)”, with (I counted) thirty five items in between those two.

Quite a list.

1 comment to Not such a little list

  • Guy Herbert

    What might be useful is to work out the number of people entitled to authorise such investigations. (Though the number who could participate/see the results would be much greater.) At a guess, more than 100,000, though it should be possible to do it fairly accurately. It would give the unconcerned public more of a feeling for the loss of privacy involved.