How to maintain a fair balance between national and individual security and traditional freedoms and human rights is an important political issue in Britain. We have been forced to accept increasing intrusion into our private lives by government agencies. Some fear we are living in a world similar to that depicted in George Orwell's "1984."
The development of closed circuit television (CCTV) has led to a huge increase in the number of security cameras on highways, buses and trains, as well as in public places. The use of CCTV may have reduced crime rates and increased convictions.
Most people probably accept that in the interests of safety and crime prevention CCTV is a necessary evil, but interfering bureaucrats and politicians can and do misuse them in ways that infringe privacy and human rights.