[Title of letter]

I have read with interest: • your report on IMSI catchers1; • the first witness statement of Ailidh Callander dated 18 April 20192; • the decision of the First Tier Tribunal in Privacy International v The Information Commissioner and Police and Crime Commissioner For Warwickshire (EA/2018/0170)3; • the decision of the First Tier Tribunal in Privacy International v The Information Commissioner and. [...] If Privacy International was not satisfied with the outcome of the cases, the appropriate avenue of challenge was to appeal those decisions to the Upper Tribunal. [...] Notwithstanding this, I am very happy to confirm the regulatory framework which would apply to the use of IMSI catchers, were they to be used by law enforcement in the UK. [...] Given that it is no secret that UK law enforcement have the capability to intercept communications through compelling a telecommunications operator to do this by serving them with an interception warrant, it is not clear to me why UK law enforcement would wish to use the resource intensive process of deployment of an IMSI catcher to effect the same outcome. [...] I hope my confirmation of the legal framework that would apply to the use of IMSI catchers in the UK, which would include the need for approval by a Judicial Commissioner (other than in urgent cases), allays Privacy International’s concerns that such equipment could be used without proper oversight or for the purpose of monitoring those simply attending lawful protests.