Revealed: How Hull, Bradford, East Riding and other Yorkshire councils use spy powers intended for terror fight to catch fly tippers

They have shown little sign of adhering to the Government’s plea to scale back use of surveillance powers – which were originally intended to tackle terrorism and serious crime – with one launching spying missions almost once a week for the last five years.

The Government wants to stop councils using these powers unless approved by a magistrate and used for a serious crime that carries a prison sentence of six months or more.

However a Yorkshire Post investigation has revealed that 21 of the region’s councils used RIPA – the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act which allows them to carry out surveillance – 1,134 times since September 2006.

Eight authorities were unable to supply figures from before 2008; only five were able to provide details of the success of their operations; all failed to give details of how much the work costs the taxpayer.

Hull Council’s snooping activities made up almost a fifth of the entire region combined – 194 separate operations undertaken since September 2006.

There are also huge differences between the councils in their use of RIPA – Bradford and East Riding used the powers more than 100 times each and Rotherham, which only provided figures from 2008, carried out 157 operations. However Harrogate did not carry out any covert surveillance in five years, Barnsley undertook just two operations and Wakefield only 15.

Campaigners have long called for councils to be stripped of RIPA powers, claiming they are misused, ineffective and expensive.

Nick Pickles, director of privacy campaign group Big Brother Watch, said: “This investigation once again highlights how councils are misusing powers created to combat terrorism on a worryingly frequent basis – and are determined to avoid accountability for their actions.

“Big Brother Watch has previously conducted research highlighting how across the country, investigations conducted by local authorities under RIPA very rarely result in prosecutions , yet councils continue to conduct highly invasive surveillance of residents.

“We support the Government’s proposals for the use of RIPA to be regulated by magistrates and on seeing these figures I am sure members of the public will appreciate how urgently this regulation is required.”

Mr Pickles said their research revealed that between 2008 and 2010 Newcastle was using RIPA most, with 231 applications in two years. He added that, from a total of 8,575 investigations, only 399 resulted in prosecutions.

Of the 21 councils which responded to the Yorkshire Post investigation, only five offered clear indications of operation results.

Kirklees carried out 74, with no evidence found in 27; Selby undertook 20, with no evidence found in 14; in 63 operations North Yorkshire Council didn’t obtain evidence in 27; East Riding failed to get any evidence in nine of 120 missions and Sheffield used RIPA 95 times, with no useful evidence obtained 21 times.

From all 1,134 operations, councils were only able to detail 44 prosecutions that were achieved.

The Government’s plans to reform the Act are likely to be made law early next year.

A spokeswoman for Hull Council said: “The council uses covert surveillance powers under RIPA in order to protect and keep safe the residents and visitors to the city of Hull.”