Ministers have shelved plans to collect details of all text, e-mail and internet communications until after the general election.
Public concern about the safety of communications data and the potential for abuse is one reason for the delay. Service providers such as BT and Vodafone also raised concerns.
The move, announced by the Home Office, will dismay senior police officers and counter-terrorism officials who argue that they need the data-collection powers to monitor suspected terrorists. In April the Home Office abandoned plans for a central database to hold all email, text and internet use. Instead the Government outlined a “middle way” that would oblige communications companies to collect and store all data on who sent a text, to whom, at what time and from where,