Fly to the US and pass their Terrism Test courtesy HMQ

BBC Online report that MEPs want to know whether that passenger data surrendered to the US authorities is fed into the US Automated Targeting System (ATS), which profiles possible terrism suspects.

The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released information about the targeting system in December, explaining that it was intended to detect high-risk individuals not previously known to the law-enforcement community.

The BBC say that the EC has already written to the US government to ask whether the ATS profiling system is using air passenger records in ways that fall outside the current EU-US agreement ... which for the UK is pointless because ......

Here is relevant part of the Order which inserts a new article 141A into the Air Navigation Order 2005.... which The Queen's Most Excellent Majesty in Council At the Court at Buckingham Palace, the 19th day of July 2005 with the advice of Her Privy Council had ordered.
2006 No. 2316 / CIVIL AVIATION
The Air Navigation (Amendment) Order 2006 Made - - - - 5th September 2006 /Laid before Parliament 7th September 2006 / Coming into force - - 30th September 2006
At the Court at Balmoral, the 5th day of September 2006
Present, The Queen’s Most Excellent Majesty in Council
Her Majesty, in exercise of the powers conferred upon Her by sections 60(1), (2)(b), (3)(h) and (4), 61(1)(a) and 102(2)(b) of, and paragraph 2 of Part 3 of Schedule 13 to, the Civil Aviation Act 1982(a), is pleased, by and with the advice of Her Privy Council, to order as follows:

Citation and commencement
1. This Order may be cited as the Air Navigation (Amendment) Order 2006 and shall come into force on 30th September 2006.

141A.—(1) The Secretary of State may give a direction to any person who is an operator of an aircraft referred to in paragraph (2) requiring him to take the action referred to in
paragraph (3)......

(3) The action referred to in paragraph (1) is the making available electronically of data in
respect of all passengers and crew on the aircraft or expected to be on the aircraft.

WHAT IS AN ORDER IN COUNCIL ?

An Order-in-Council is effectively a species of statutory instrument (which are regulated by the Statutory Instruments Act 1946 in the UK), albeit subject to more formalities than a simple statutory instrument. They are simply law making by decree. Like all statutory instruments, they may either be annulled in pursuance of a resolution of either the House of Commons or the House of Lords ('negative resolution procedure') or require to be approved by a resolution of either House, or, exceptionally, both ('affirmative resolution procedure').

With devolution these powers have been preserved , the Scotland Act 1998 provides that draft Orders-in-Council may be laid before the Scottish Parliament in certain circumstances in the same way as they would have been laid before the Westminster Parliament . In Wales from 2007 legislation put before the Welsh Assembly will be enacted through Orders-in-Council after following the affirmative resolution procedure. In this case the obligation to provide the data is outside any arrangements the EC may have or will make. There is no time limit on this Order - which of course "in theory could be raised in the Houses of Parliament".

That's how your democratic freedoms are protected. God Bless you Your Majesty !