UK Security Minister Dan Jarvis defended Britain’s investigatory powers at a London conference Tuesday, arguing they support public safety as the law governing them nears its 10th anniversary.
Jarvis spoke Nov. 10 at an event hosted by the Investigatory Powers Commissioner’s Office (IPCO), which oversees the powers. The Investigatory Powers Act 2016 reaches its 10th anniversary Nov. 29. It sets rules for when authorities may intercept communications, access equipment and obtain or retain communications data, and established the commissioner and related oversight arrangements.
Jarvis recalled that lawmakers debated the act amid controversy over its bulk powers. He described it as a framework intended to equip police and intelligence agencies while maintaining public confidence.
In his speech, Jarvis said authorities authorized more than 350,000 requests for targeted communications data in 2025. IPCO’s annual report lists 346,998 authorizations across communications-data types, alongside separate counts of 349,097 applications submitted and 316,961 applications authorized in its decisions. Those figures use different measures; the speech and report do not establish how the minister’s targeted-request total relates to the report’s counts.
The report also records 51,842 authorizations linked to violence against the person, 48,305 for sexual offences and 100,700 for drug offenses. The categories can overlap because one authorization may be counted under several crime types.
Jarvis said IPCO checks that covered bodies use the powers only when necessary, proportionate and lawful, summarizing the standard as “Necessary. Proportionate. And lawful.” The annual report said four errors in 2025 met its definition of serious and identified compliance concerns across several public authorities.
Jarvis said the legal framework needs continued review as artificial intelligence and other technologies change. He also said privacy and democratic freedoms require safeguards. Britain and Sweden are due to host a second International Symposium on Lawful Access in Stockholm the following week, he said, without giving a specific date.
