Theresa May has refused to say whether Britain's security services are accessing medical records and other potentially sensitive information.The home secretary said she did not want to "go down the route of giving information about the sort of data sets that are being acquired".
She was speaking to the draft Investigatory Powers Bill committee.
It was revealed last year that GCHQ is downloading large amounts of personal data to aid its investigations.
It could include the personal details of "a large number of individuals, the majority of whom will not be of any interest to the security and intelligence agencies", according the draft bill.
The information from these "bulk personal data sets," which could include everything from the electoral register, supermarket loyalty schemes or bank records, is then analysed to enable investigators to "join the dots".
The practice is covered by old legislation and has never been debated by MPs. "The UK does not undertake mass surveillance".
Minister refuses to say whether UK spies access medical data
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