Browne goes into detail on the tapping of his telephone by the State in the late 1970s. How the tapping started because: "The State regarded it as legitimate to tap my phone because I was in touch with paramilitaries at the time".

But when he saw the transcripts in 1980, he reveals that security was NOT the reason for tapping his phone. "It might have been initially – but it expired pretty quickly – it was for political reasons." 

Data Retention provides even greater possibilities for such criminality.