MPs fear spectre of secret surveillance

The British Government is creating a system of "mass public surveillance" capable of tracking every adult in Britain without their consent, MPs say.

They warn that people who have never committed a crime can be "electronically monitored" without their knowledge.

Biometric facial scans, which will be compulsory with ID cards, are to be put on a national database which can then be matched with images from CCTV. The database of faces will enable police and security services to track individuals regardless of whether they have broken the law.

CCTV surveillance footage could be cross-referenced with photographs of every adult once the ID cards Bill becomes law.

Biometric facial scans, iris scans and fingerprints of all adults in the UK will be stored on a national database. Civil liberties groups say the plans are a "dangerous" threat to people's privacy.

The Liberal Democrats warned the plans were being brought in without informing the public.

Spokesman Mark Oaten said: "A system capable of mass public surveillance is being created.

"The arrival of CCTV cameras which can recognise you and track you without your knowledge means we are stepping into an unknown future."

Monitoring would be possible using the country's four million CCTV cameras - more than any country in the world - to cross-reference with a national database.

Home Secretary Charles Clarke said that the "facial images national database should be operational by December 2006".

The Home Office said the police would only check a person against a database to investigate a crime.

"The police may request information, if it is necessary, without an individual's consent. A process would operate so that only a specified rank could apply for information."

Big brother is watching

* Biometric facial scans of every adult in Britain will be stored by the Government under proposed law.

* Opponents say these scans could be cross-referenced against CCTV images to track innocent people.

* Britain has a network of four million CCTV cameras - the largest in the world. On average, a Londoner is caught 300 times on CCTV a day.

* The Government says that information held on individuals in the database would only be used during crime investigations.

* Liberty groups have said the register will lead to surveillance of innocent people against their knowledge and an industry of private information sales

- INDEPENDENT