(The Home Office today announced that the order under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act extending communications data access powers to 20 more government departments and other bodies (including the Post Office), and to all local authorities, has been delayed at least until the autumn session of Parliament).

John Wadham, director of Liberty, said:

"The Home Office's retreat is a welcome victory for the defence of basic privacy - but only a temporary one if they insist on bringing back this extraordinary measure in the autumn.

"The public reaction to this sweeping extension of snooping powers shows just how ill-judged it was - and how alarming it is that such drastic measures could pass through Parliament almost unnoticed.

"It isn't, though, the end of excessive snooping under RIPA - far from it. This order was the tip of the iceberg. Even without this power, hundreds of organisations, including governmet departments, local councils and NHS trusts, already have powers to carry out covert surveillance on us - again with wholly inadequate supervision and control. And again, we would almost certainly never know.

"Too many powers to access information are thrown too wide, with far too little control and policing of their use. We need to go back to first principles: a Privacy Act should establish clearly in law our basic right to privacy - and then carefully delineate and control the necessary exceptions to that rule".