Private firm 'may run' phone log

The addresses of websites visited would be recorded

A private company could be asked to run a huge database containing details of everybody's telephone calls, emails and internet use, it has been reported.

The option to tender out the management of the database will be included in a consultation paper to be published next month, according to the Guardian.

The Home Office said police had to keep up with technical advances and there would be wide consultation on the plan.

Critics, however, say it poses a serious threat to civil liberties.

Former director of public prosecutions Sir Ken Macdonald reiterated his opposition to the plan in light of the Guardian's report, dismissing official claims that additional legal assurances would ensure the information is not misused.

He told the paper: "All history tells us that reassurances like these are worthless in the long run. In the first security crisis the locks would loosen."

The database, which critics claim would cost up to