We are increasingly monitored in our everyday lives, but it is possible that surveillance has actually made crime levels worse for the average citizen.

Criminals are more likely to choose ‘soft’ targets such as private homes, knowing there is little chance of detection. You could argue the remedy is to install CCTV on every house or lamp post, but is this really a society we want to live in?

The authorities know too much about us and recent events at Westminster prove that politicians cannot be trusted to protect our interests. MPs fought to defend their own privacy but they want to impose oppressive controls on everyone else.

We have even seen the case of a local councillor, Pete Callis, arrested under anti-terrorism laws because he dared to stage a peaceful protest at Westminster in June last year.

Britain is morphing into the police state we used to see in futuristic films, with people watching 24-7.

Mr Sear is right – we should wake up to what is happening.

Jeff Alden,

Fairfax Road,

Harborough.