Tom Griffin (London, The Green Ribbon): The cost of Britain's surveillance society has reached £20 billion according to a report by the TaxPayers Alliance released today. The bill includes £19 billion for ID cards, £500 million for CCTV and £300 million for the DNA database.
The findings have been picked up David Davis as part of his by-election campaign, as the Telegraph's Andrew Porter reports.
Mr Davis said: “This is yet further damning evidence of Big Brother’s
expensive tastes. ID cards, CCTV, the DNA database and other measures are a
huge waste of taxpayers’ money on policies that undermine freedom and are
utterly ineffective in fighting crime or terrorism.
Where many on the liberal left will part company from Davis and the TaxPayers Alliance is in their emphasis on deporting high-profile extremists, something the Alliance believes would be facilitated by withdrawing from the European Convention on Human Rights.
