UK Government wants banks to spy on your savings, privacy watchdogs warn.
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Mass outcry as Labour pushes plan to make banks monitor benefit payments. Millions of ordinary people could be affected. What it means to you.
Labour is trying to resurrect mass financial snooping plans once binned by the Tories – but privacy watchdogs and campaigners say it’s Orwellian overreach.
Just when you thought your bank account was your business, the Government’s back at it – prising open your wallet and peering inside. In a move branded “Orwellian” by privacy campaigners, Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour Government is reviving mass financial surveillance plans first cooked up by the Tories — and scrapped after a public outcry.
But now, under the guise of cracking down on benefit fraud, Labour’s Public Authorities (Fraud, Error & Recovery) Bill – the so-called “Bank Spying Bill” – is set to force banks to scan and flag accounts across the board, even if you’ve never put a foot wrong.
UK Mass Snooping Outrage: Labour’s plan to make banks spy on ordinary people.
That’s right – under these proposals, banks will be compelled to trawl through the accounts of millions of Brits, looking for vague and secret “indicators” of possible fraud.
No warrant. No suspicion. No crime.
Just routine state snooping on your savings.
Financial fraud should be fought — but can it be fought without turning every Brit into a suspect?
UK Government to monitor savings of millions on benefits.
The plans, critics say, are nothing short of turning your bank into a Government informant.
‘It’s a mass data grab of Orwellian proportions,’ warned Big Brother Watch, the civil liberties group that helped defeat similar powers under Rishi Sunak’s Government. ‘It strips away the presumption of innocence and treats millions as suspects.’
And they’re not alone. A whopping 270,000 members of the public have already signed petitions demanding the bill be binned – again.
Twenty-four civil society organisations, including the Equality and Human Rights Commission, have slammed the plan. And a legal opinion by Dan Squires KC and Aidan Wills concluded the proposals likely breach UK privacy rights under Article 8 of the Human Rights Act.
Surveillance for our own safety?
The stated aim is to catch welfare fraud – but here’s the thing: the Government already has ample powers to access bank records if there’s suspicion. These new rules? They’ll target everyone, no need for reasonable suspicion.
The real reach? Banks will be required to create lists of account holders receiving benefits — meaning parents, carers, pensioners, and even landlords receiving tenants’ payments could land in a digital dragnet. Your financial data, rifled through by algorithms looking for anomalies — even if the “error” was the Government’s own fault.
And mistakes are all but guaranteed. Critics warn this dystopian data sweep will wrongly flag thousands of vulnerable people — the elderly, disabled, single mums — pushing them into a bureaucratic nightmare.
Remember the Post Office Horizon scandal? Hundreds falsely prosecuted over dodgy data? This could be that, at scale.
Spying for peanuts
So what’s the payoff for this colossal intrusion?
Even the Government admits it’s not much. The Department for Work and Pensions estimates the surveillance could recover just £138 million a year. That’s a mere 1.5% of the total lost to fraud and error. Or put another way, for every £1 spent snooping, just pennies might come back.
And if the more generous Government estimate of £320 million turns out true? It’s still only less than 3% of the annual loss.
A hammer to crack a peanut. A digital dragnet to catch a handful of cheats.
Innocent until proven poor?
Underpinning the outrage is a clear erosion of civil liberties. The cornerstone principle of British justice — innocent until proven guilty — is being quietly bulldozed. This isn’t surveillance targeted at known crooks. It’s blanket suspicion of everybody.
Starmer’s U-turn or stealth mode?
What makes it sting even more? Labour opposed these same powers when the Tories tried them. Now they’re back — just months into power — pushing the same plan with a new name and fresh lipstick. “Starmer’s benefits bank spying proposals sound alarmingly similar to the powers Labour fought just a few months,” said Silkie Carlo, director of Big Brother Watch back in 2024.
It’s not just hypocritical. It’s dangerous.
What you can do
The message from campaigners is clear: don’t sit back while your privacy is packed up and handed to the state. If you care about this:
- Sign the petition: Over 270,000 have already backed the call to stop bank spying. Add your name.
- Email your MP: Let them know you won’t stand for mass surveillance. Use your own words – tell them how you feel.
- Spread the word: If these plans pass quietly, the next erosion of your rights won’t be far behind.
Bottom line?
Critics argue that Starmer is setting a dangerous precedent.
This isn’t just about catching crooks.
It’s about creeping control.
It’s the next domino in a long line.
Our bank accounts might not be the only thing under state surveillance tomorrow.
Final Questions:
- Is this Bill as intrusive, ineffective, and ethically bankrupt as critics claim?
- Can Labour do better? The public deserve protection — not persecution.
- Is this about catching criminals — or scaring and controlling the poor and vulnerable?
You decide. Have your say in the comments below.
Thanks for reading.
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