The Law Society has joined forces with surveillance watchdog Privacy International to found a privacy rights centre to provide pro bono legal help to victims of ‘oppressive surveillance’ technologies.

The centre will coordinate pro bono privacy advice, advocacy and legal action to uphold individuals’ rights. It will also lobby the government to strengthen privacy rights.

Britain has been dubbed a ‘surveillance society’, with critics citing councils’ use of Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) legislation to spy on residents. A report released last week from personal privacy pressure group Big Brother Watch claimed that 372 local authorities have conducted RIPA surveillance operations in 8,575 cases over the past two years.

Law Society president Robert Heslett urged lawyers to become involved in the centre’s work.