Two people have been successfully prosecuted for refusing to provide authorities with their encryption keys.

The pair could face five years in jail under Blighty law. It is the first time that the law has been used. Technically the government could force people to unscramble their data since October 2007. The disclosure was made by Sir Christopher Rose, the government's Chief Surveillance Commissioner, in his recent annual report. It is not clear what the crimes were being investigated in the case of either individual - neither of whom were necessarily suspects - nor of the sentences they received.

Requests from the press about the convictions have turned a blank. The Crown Prosecution Service said it was unable to track down information on the legal milestones without the defendants' names. Sir Christopher said that all of the 15 section 49 notices served over the year including the two that resulted in convictions - were in "counter terrorism, child indecency and domestic extremism" cases. (Remember, remember, the 5th of November... sub.ed.)