New surveillance powers will soon be given below the provisions of the draft investigatory powers bill, letting them get records monitoring every UK citizen’s use of the net with no judicial test, to law enforcement and security services.

It contains new powers requiring web and telephone firms to maintain “internet connection records” – monitoring every web site seen but not every page – for a maximum of 12 months but won’t need a warrant for the cops, security services or alternative bodies to obtain the info. Local authorities will soon be prohibited from getting web records.

The suggested legislation may also introduce a “double-lock” on the ministerial acceptance of interception warrants using a fresh panel of seven judicial commissioners – likely retired judges – given a veto before they are able to come into force.

The draft investigatory powers bill released on Wednesday by the home secretary intends to make available a “complete and comprehensible” overhaul of Britain’s fragmented surveillance laws.

It’s going to replace the present system of three independent commissioners using a senior judge as one investigatory powers commissioner.

May told MPs the introduction of the very most contentious power – the storage of everyone’s internet connection records monitoring the sites they’ve seen, which is prohibited as overly intrusive in America and every European country including Britain – was “just the modern equivalent of an itemised phone bill”.