Euro MPs reject UK digital snooping plan

The European parliament has rejected a call by some countries, including the UK, to retain details on all calls, texts and emails for three years.

The proposal, put forward by France, Ireland, Sweden and the UK, demanded the data retention proposals to combat terrorism. The European parliament, however, decided the measures were unlikely to achieve that aim and were a threat to civil liberties.

The parliament said of the ruling: "MEPs want the rules to be proportional to any threat and for the parliament to have an equal say with national government in this area."

The parliament, however, did give its backing to a separate proposal by the European Union. which calls for data to be stored for a shorter period.

However, the EU's proposal has also attracted criticism for its impact on European citizens' privacy.

The European Data Protection Supervisor, Peter Hustinx, said earlier this week that the plans are disproportionate and possibly illegal.