Minister: TV licence move ‘will not breach data laws’

Fears that a new crackdown on TV licence fee dodgers could breach data protection laws have been dismissed by Communications Minister Alex White.

The Government announced the move to go after non-payers as it abandoned plans to bring in a new broadcasting charge this side of the general election.

The bid to force cable service providers such as Sky and UPC to hand over details about customers sparked concern it could infringe far-reaching protections around personal information held by companies.