Uncle Sam saw you drive from Bognor to Brighton!

For those who keep bleating about the anti-terror laws and how effective they are should think again. Saying, "well, if you haven't done anything you shouldn't be worried", and sounding all prim and proper about it is no good. Jacqui Smith is living up to her status as a typical prying New Labour Home Secretary. All apparatchik and no common sense.

She has discreetly (or by stealth!) introduced new measures which will allow images of cars captured on road-side cameras, and "personal data" derived from them, including number plates, to be sent overseas to such august organisations as the CIA. The Daily Telegraph has uncovered her weasley ways. When she announced last year that British anti-terrorism police could access "real time" images from cameras used in the running of London's congestion charge, she did not imply that it could be used by "others". A statement by Miss Smith to Parliament on July 17, 2007, detailing the exemptions for police from the 1998 Data Protection Act, did not mention other changes that would permit material to be sent outside the European Economic Area (EEA) to the authorities in the US and elsewhere. Typical New Labour. All spin and deception.

So when you are out for a drive this weekend with the family, give a wave to the cameras as you pass by. After all, Uncle Sam wants you to know he appreciates your co-operation.