The most public and vociferous critic of Theresa May’s invasive new snooping laws stopped opposing them as soon as he entered the cabinet.
David Davis has said in the past that the the Government’s surveillance legislation has “serious” flaws and must be re-written to stop abuse. But he appears to have dropped his opposition to the law after becoming Theresa May’s minister for Brexit.
One of Mr Davis’s most high-profile objections was filing a complaint with the European Court of Justice that claimed the government’s data retention laws were illegal. That filing claimed that rules that force telecom companies to store data about their customers’ conversations were illegal and should be struck down by European authorities.
The European Court of Justice gave an initial ruling on the case through advocate general Saugmandsgaard Øe on Tuesday morning. But that ruling made no mention of David Davis, instead referencing only Labour's Tom Watson and the claimants.
The new Brexit minister appears to have withdrawn his name from the ruling, which could have criticised Theresa May personally and led to problems for her government and its approach to Europe. Many had said that the ruling could become Ms May’s first big challenge, deciding how she would respond to decisions from Europe.
As it is, the opinion – on the Data Retention and Investigatory Powers Act – said that the law forcing telecom companies to retain data “may be compatible with EU law”, but that it is “imperative that that obligation be circumscribed by strict safeguards”.
But Mr Davis removed his name from the case before the opinion was reported.
Mr Davis will presumably relent from criticising the new powers as they make their way into law.
The Independent has contacted Mr Davis’s office for comment.
