Barcode Nation

Not a joke.
Hat-tip to Home Office Watch from the Liberal Democrats.

Ever get that feeling you’re being watched?
Well if you live in, work in or pass through central London, you probably are. The Tube is not the only thing lurking underneath our capital’s streets, as this Guardian article and video reveals.
Westminster’s CCTV control room contains 48 screens with feeds from 160 fixed cameras and numerous more [...]

Is it me or is the civil liberties campaign building some real momentum?
Hot on the heels of the Scottish parliament and the body representing pilots, comes criticism from none other than Dame Stella Rimington, the former head of MI5. We now have the former figurehead of the security services telling the Government they have gone [...]

Every so often it’s good to take time out and remember just why we campaign so relentlessly to protect our human and civil rights.
 
In case your motivation is on the wane, have a read of the Guardian Weekly’s report on Sri Lanka’s Civilian Tragedy. Here’s an excerpt:
 

“These days I often visit the north of Sri [...]

The first UK ID cards have already been issued - but UK authorities have no way of reading the data stored on them.
An FoI request by Silicon.com revealed that no police stations, border entry points or job centres have readers in place for the card’s biometric chip.
Cambridge University security expert Richard Clayton told silicon.com:
“If this [...]

The family of illegal immigrants busted last year for running a fake passport factory in London have been jailed.
 
The police haul included 60 blank Spanish passports, 150 Portuguese passports, 32 Italian passports, 200 blank Portuguese identity cards, 150 UK national insurance cards, £1,400 in cash and a variety of forged utility bills.

The ringleader received a five-and-a-half year [...]

In my post yesterday looking at betting odds for the date of the next general election, I hinted that a change of government could be a positive step for civil liberties campaigners.
 
I’ve now stumbled across this excellent piece from the ever impressive James Graham. He questions where the Conservatives will go with Human Rights if [...]

…it may just land you with a visit from Plod.
 
The BBC’s Five Live Breakfast sparked a flurry of anti-surveillance texts this morning following their story on internet companies being forced to keep records of our emails.
 
From March, new legislation will force ISPs to keep information about every e-mail sent or received in the UK for one year. [...]

Tayside Police said systems installed in local businesses to protect staff and deter shoplifters are often not properly maintained.

Crime prevention officers are urging firms and shops with CCTV cameras to check their system is working properly.
Most large towns and cities have public CCTV monitored by police and supplemented by large stores and shops with in-house [...]

Reports that police have been granted new powers to snoop on your PC without a warrant have been denied by the Home Office.
 
According to the Sunday Times report, the Home Office has quietly adopted a new plan via Europe to allow police across Britain to conduct “remote searching”. It allows police or MI5 officers to [...]