With Royal Assent being given, repealing the Identity Cards Act 2006. We say a farewell to what was set to be the biggest intrusion into our lives for many years, as well as being a shocking waste of public money.
Check out the statement on the Identity & Passport Office for more details and what you have to do if you already have one of the New ID Cards.
However, we should still not feel that this one ‘gain’ offsets the rest of the states ‘Big-Brother’ apparatus that continues to monitor our daily movements.
The UK is still the biggest user of CCTV in public places that are used to track us for manner of things from dropping cigarettes/litter (a good thing perhaps) to checking that we have the right to park in a particular place.
However, there are other positive uses. For example, some of the ‘32’ CCTV cameras on the Clifton Suspension Bridge may help in the capture of the killer of Joanna Yeates. I hope it does
For me, it’s not so much about the number of CCTV cameras, it is about who uses them and how ‘we’ control the data collected on them and how the ‘watchers’ are made to answer in public about their use of our CCTV images.
Perhaps this could be one of the new Public Petitions recently discussed by the Coalition?
Beasley's Place 
It is true that ID cards were popularly rejected as they arose many concerns regarding privacy. Ensuring the security of UK citizens and residents is responsibility of the authorities. However, I agree with those that say that they also make sure that our right of privacy is not overlooked.
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