IN THE fight against high-level crime, the police have now been armed with the right to break into premises and bug suspects, but with an important proviso.

For when the previous Home Secretary, Michael Howard, revealed his "bugging" Bill, it would have allowed such surveillance simply on the say-so of chief constables.

After a defeat in the Lords, he was forced to agree that such operations must be first approved by independent commissioners - either serving or retired High Court judges.

Now, the new government has endorsed this safeguard.

Bugging has the sinister aspects of a police state, but this restraint on it should remove many concerns.

The law-abiding need not fret much - only the criminal fraternity has cause to protest.

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