HAMPSHIRE police is one of four forces in the country not to release details of its use of controversial snooping powers.

Big Brother Watch requested details of what surveillance powers had been used by the country’s forces but Hampshire police responded by saying the data was not in a “retrievable format”.

The campaign group found that over three years there were 27,115 authorisations for directed surveillance – which occurs covertly – across the UK, leading to calls for police to be more transparent about their use of the powers.

Despite the law being changed in 2012 to stop local authorities using the same powers without a magistrate’s approval, police forces do not require any such permission and civil liberties campaigners want this to change.

Emma Carr, director of Big Brother Watch, said: “The police should not be able to keep the details secret of how and why members of the public are spied on. To do so whilst not having to seek a courts approval to use the powers is simply unacceptable.”