Britain is already home to 10 percent of the entire world’s close circuit television (CCTV) cameras. By 2007 it will have 25 million of them – one camera spying on every two adults in Britain.

How many in the country are aware of just how often their own movements are tracked by roadside speed cameras, new travel passes and satellites?

The introduction of electronic tollgates designed to curb the number of cars coming into London’s crowded streets has led to the installation of around 800 cameras to catch motorists who do not pay their daily £5 “congestion charge”. Across the country there are a further 5000 police traffic radars, set up to catch overhasty drivers, and their number is increasing.

“If anyone had told me two years ago that we would soon be in a position where it would be normal for many of us to be under 24-hour a day surveillance, I would have told them not to be ridiculous. But now it looks like happening.”