Police 'to be given power to view web browsing history of everyone in the country'

Police may soon be granted powers to access the internet browsing history of everybody in the country, under a new bill set to be unveiled in full next week.

Senior officers have lobbied for telecommunications companies to be forced to keep information on all users' activity for 12 months, with detectives able to view it at any point subject to a judge-approved warrant.

According to the Telegraph, Home Secretary Theresa May plans to include the powers in the government's new surveillance bill, which will be introduced in the House of Commons on Wednesday.

It is thought this would allow officers to access a list of specific web addresses visited by customers, as well as seize details of the website and searches made by the user.

Speaking to The Times, the National Police Chiefs' Council spokesman for data communication, Richard Berry, said forces were not asking for anything beyond their current powers covering telephone conversations.

The controversial plans have already come under criticism, with Tory MP David Davis saying it was "extraordinary" that police would ask for such power.

"They are overreaching and there is no proven need to retain such data for a year," he said.

A previous attempt to change the law over communications data, labelled a "snooper's charter" by critics, was halted by the Liberal Democrats under the coalition government over privacy concerns.

But Theresa May has previous told the Commons that by not granting updated power to security and enforcement services, they were technologically behind the criminals they were trying to track.