Home Office chiefs are facing a furious backlash from MPs and civil liberties campaigners after teaming-up with UK internet providers to test ways to track people's browsing history.
In a move described by one MP as a 'spectacular invasion of privacy', the Home Office and the National Crime Agency (NCA) have conducted a secretive trial which allows them to obtain information on what internet sites people have visited.
If the 'small scale' scheme is a success, data collection systems could be rolled-out nationwide.
The trial, said to have involved two unnamed internet providers, uses powers from the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 - dubbed the 'Snooper's Charter'.