The UK’s police forces pay telecoms groups millions of pounds each year for information such as call records and the personal details and movements of customers, according to data collected by the FT.
The government, which is seeking to extend its surveillance powers, has paid telecoms companies including BT, Vodafone, EE and Virgin Media more than £37m for data on customers and their activities in the past five years.
Reported by the Financial Times. You can read the full story here.