Big Brother is alive and stationed in Whitehall

The Daily Express a week or so ago published an article which is difficult to believe. In fact, I had to look at the date, to make sure it was not 1st April.

The report is that Ed Balls intends to install 24 hour CCTV cameras in the homes of 20,000 problem families. The intention is to spy on the families to see if children are there in school time, see how late they go to bed and also what food they eat. Private security guards will call to make home checks. Presumably there is also a curfew?

Already 2,000 families have been subject to this "sin-bin" supervision, at a cost varying between £5,000 and £20,000 per house. At most the total cost could thus be eventually £400 million. The intention is that every local authority will eventually have the provision available.

It is not only shocking that after 12 years, and rejecting powers to headteachers to exclude troublesome children, that government should now turn to this high-handed and excessive technique. (Will it work, or will the children go out and roam the streets in school hours as before to disappear from surveillance? Are there cameras in every room to observe unacceptable behaviour, or will the family adjourn to the woodshed?)

The Orwellian future is with us. Big Brother is already collecting personal details, watching our cars, and now watching some in the privacy of their homes. It is the last, desperate throw of a government which has run out of ideas and lost control.