Proposals for a new government database would see every phone call and email sent by the public stored for a minimum of 12 months.

As part of its fight against crime and terrorism, the UK government is planning the launch of a massive ‘Big Brother’ database which will hold details of every phone call and email sent by the public, it has emerged.

According to The Times newspaper, Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and telecoms companies will be required to provide the Home Office with the records.

The data will then be kept on file for a minimum of 12 months and, with the permission of the courts, could then be used by the police and security services to aid their investigations.

The initiative will comprise part of the upcoming Communications Data Bill to be announced by the Queen in November 2008.

It is set to raise further concerns over the growing trend towards a ‘Big Brother’ society, as it follows plans for government ID cards and NHS patient databases.

The move will also raise the issue of the government’s ability to store data, as some three billion emails are sent in the UK every day alone.

According to The Times, industry sources have also warned that the creation of a single database could give rise to greater risk of attack and abuse.

Jonathan Bamford, the Assistant Information Commissioner, told The Times: “This would give us serious concerns and may well be a step too far. We are not aware of any justification for the State to hold every UK citizen’s phone and internet records.

“We have real doubts that such a measure can be justified, or is proportionate or desirable. We have warned before that we are sleepwalking into a surveillance society. Holding large collections of data is always risky – the more data that is collected and stored, the bigger the problem when the data is lost, traded or stolen.”

Those in favour of the plan have, however, argued that any added risk would be disproportionate to the advantages of such a database.

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By Natasha Piscitelli