London - Proposals designed to control the use of personal information were announced by the British government yesterday in a move which will lead to a statutory right of privacy for the first time in British law. The proposals, which have huge implications for the media, were published by the Home Office under a little-noticed Brussels directive which has to be introduced throughout the EU next year. The directive, which covers the way information is gathered, as well as how it is processed and stored, was agreed amid growing concern about the use of personal data by government agencies. But it also embraces private companies and the media. - (PA)