The Ministry of Defence and GCHQ are using their powers proportionately and responsibly.

This is according to Sir Mark Waller, the Intelligence Services Commissioner, who released the fourth annual report into the operations of UK agencies.

The ISC which has previously stated that bulk surveillance should be firmly regulated, suggest in the report that fears over GCHQ overreaching have been overstated.

Waller, said: "It is important to ensure that they use these powers lawfully and proportionally and it is my role to oversee that. Although there have been a number of human errors and I have made a number of recommendations, I conclude that the agencies, the MoD and the Warranty Units take compliance extremely seriously."

Waller uncovered 43 separate errors’, however, none were listed as being deliberate acts of avoiding the required oversight but Waller does call for greater openness in reporting incidents.

"During 2014 I expressed concern that the agencies did not report errors in a timely way. I raised this issue both during inspections and in writing and asked for an explanation for the delays in reporting."

The delays were said to be caused by the length of time it took to conduct internal reviews and investigations.

Talal Rajab, programme manager for cyber, national security and criminal justice, TechUK, said: "These cases reinforce the importance of the oversight powers of the commissioner and the need for his recommendations regarding privacy to be upheld."

The report has also been welcomed by Prime Minister David Cameron, and while it should hopefully lead to an improvement in administration it is unlikely to please privacy groups.