It was widely reported that the IMP's eventual goal was to store details of all UK communications data in a central database.
[citation needed][2] In 2008 plans were being made to collect data on all phone calls, emails, chatroom discussions and web-browsing habits as part of the IMP, thought likely to require the insertion of 'thousands' of black box probes into the country's computer and telephone networks.
"[4] Chris Huhne, the Liberal Democrat Home affairs spokesman said: "The government's Orwellian plans for a vast database of our private communications are deeply worrying.
[6] Reports in April 2009 suggested that the government had changed its public stance to one of using legal measures to compel communications providers to store the data themselves, and making it available for government to access; then Home Secretary Jacqui Smith stated that "there are absolutely no plans for a single central store.
"[7] The new plans were thought to involve spending £2bn on paying ISPs to install deep packet inspection equipment within their own networks, and obliging them to perform the cross-correlation and profiling of their users' behaviour themselves,[8] in effect achieving the original goals of the IMP by different means.