MPs and peers criticise justice bill's clause on sharing personal data as too broad

doi:10.1136/bmj.b1237

Published 24 March 2009, doi:10.1136/bmj.b1237
Cite this as: BMJ 2009;338:b1237

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MPs and peers criticise justice bill’s clause on sharing personal data as too broad

Clare Dyer

¹ BMJ

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Powers for UK government ministers to make orders allowing themto share individuals’ personal data, including medicalrecords, with public and private organisations without consenthave been criticised by the joint parliamentary committee onhuman rights as much too broad and lacking adequate safeguards.

The government, faced with an outcry over the sweeping powers,has now dropped the controversial clause from the Coroners andJustice Bill and has pledged to consult before introducing furtherlegislation on the issue (BMJ 2009;338:b1009, 11 Mar, doi:10.1136/bmj.b1009).

The influential committee of MPs and peers, whose report willform a key part of the consultation, has joined a number oforganisations, including the BMA, in attacking the measures.The BMA argued that the measures would "corrode trust in thedoctor-patient relationship" and potentially have a "disastrousimpact" on individual and public health, because patients wouldno longer trust doctors with their private . . . [Full text of this article]

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