Norman Baker: At home at the Home Office

Norman Baker is interviewed in the new issue of Total Politics:

Baker’s colleague Vince Cable recently came out in support of the Guardian for publishing documents leaked by the former CIA employee, Edward Snowden. Baker also supports the paper and says he is particularly concerned about the accountability of the security services. 

“If you go back to history it was always the case that the security services were able to intercept every letter that was posted, or listen to every telephone call. But there was a process in place: they identified a person or a group of interest, they then produced some evidence and they then were authorised by an external person, such as the Home Secretary or the Foreign Secretary. 

“We need to make sure anything which is done is accompanied by proper processes which are accountable to parliament... if we can get that process right then I think that’s more important than what actually [the security services] are able to monitor”