| State survelliance and the right to quiet enjoyment. |
| The issue: |
Dear Sir George, I am becoming increasingly aware of and upset by the amount of surveillance that is being inficted on the folk of the British Isles, and by the legislation that is allowing this to take place. Arguments in favour of it are frequently fatuous (CCTV in pubs and off licenses?...surely not the usual haunt of Islamic terrorists), criminalising the photographing of policemen who we pay and public buildings that we collectively own. The old saw about "those doing nothing wrong have nothing to fear" is simply not true.
I,as an Englishman, should have an absolute right to go about my life in private, unhindered by the state. I should not have to live my life with some unknown third party passing judgement the lawfullness of my every act. Could you please offer me some assurance that both you and the Conservative party have some sympathy for my views, and have in mind an increase in my right to lawfully enjoy my county and my privacy, unencumbered by an identity card or the goggle-eyes of state spying on me while I have a pint.
Many thanks for your time, and best wishes, |
| Date Issue Raised: |
24 Feb 2009 |
| My response: |
Thank you for your email about the establishment of the ‘surveillance society’, as described by the Government’s own information commissioner, Richard Thomas.
The extension of the state’s supervision of everyday activities – sending an email, putting out the rubbish, monitoring school catchment areas – has been amongst the most disturbing aspects of the past 11 years . There is one CCTV camera for every 14 people in the UK, yet between 70% and 80% of the images they produce are judged inadmissible in court , due to their poor quality. The DNA database is the largest in the world and contains the records of 1.1 million people who have never been convicted, cautioned or even formally warned. Our stance on these issues has been constant and a future Conservative Government alone can be trusted to uphold the liberties that these measures infringe.
We opposed the Government’s provisions for 42 day pre-charge detention and our stance was vindicated when this proposal was dropped from the Counter-Terrorism Bill. My colleagues and I have called for the DNA database to be placed on a statutory footing and have questioned why DNA samples, rather than merely profiles are held. We have spoken out against the ID cards scheme which will be both costly and ineffective as a means of preventing terrorism and have pledged to scrap ID cards should we come into government. Moreover, we are concerned at the prospect of a central database of all email and telecommunications which the Government’s own Information Commissioner has described as ‘a step too far for the British way of life.’
These issues are all the more important because th e Government has proven itself incapable of maintaining the integrity of our personal information. On 29 October 2008 , the Information Commissioner released a staggering review of all data breaches in the last twelve months. Since Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs lost the records of 25 million people, a further 277 data breaches have been reported to the Independent Information Commission including, 75 within the NHS and other health bodies, 28 reported by central government, 26 by local authorities and 47 by the rest of the public sector. This is a situation that must be addressed, and the widely held fears about the prospect of a central database for all communications are only likely to be exacerbated by these revelations.
Best wishes, George Young
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Sir George Young Bt MP: Constituency and Parliamentary Website 