The privacy and security debate over digital intelligence continues, but little by little the fog of controversy that followed the publication of material leaked by Edward Snowden is being cleared away.

Last month, the Prime Minister received the report[1] from the Independent Surveillance Review commissioned under the last government by Nick Clegg, then Deputy Prime Minister. The review panel reached a unanimous set of conclusions, perhaps to the surprise of some, given how broadly based the review panel was. It included former heads of the three British intelligence agencies and a senior retired police officer as well as a leading investigative journalist, parliamentarians, a law professor and an internet entrepreneur. The report called for fresh legislation both to justify necessary intrusions into privacy by the state and to regulate such activity through clear law and effective oversight.