The letter from Sir Simon Milton, head of the Local Government Association, to local councils telling them not to use the powers granted to them under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act to deal with “trivial offences” is a triumph for David Davis. (These powers were designed to assist in anti-terrorism investigations but are now being used by councils to check up on what people are putting in their bins and whether they are scooping up after their dogs.) Although, the letter might have been sent anyway there is no doubt that Davis has turned the spotlight onto these kind of abuses.
Davis is going to have to battle to stay in the news these coming weeks and I still think that his resignation was ill thought-out. But this letter does show that the state can be shamed into not using powers granted to it in a disproportionate manner.
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