"Because of that threat we face and the way that terrorists operate… it is necessary that if we are to find and stop the people who mean us harm, MI5 and others need to be able to navigate the Internet to find terrorist communication," Andrew Parker told the BBC broadcaster.
UK Prime Minister David Cameron proposed a series of counter-terrorism measures soon after his Conservative Party’s victory in the general elections in May. The measures include a once-defeated contentious surveillance bill, nicknamed the Snoopers’ Charter, which requires telecommunication providers to retain information on their clients' communications for 12 months and to make it available to the authorities upon request.
MI5 Director General Parker previously called for new surveillance powers in the immediate aftermath of the Charlie Hebdo terrorist attack in the French capital of Paris, earlier this year.