Cameron attacks 'freedom's enemies'

The Conservative leader will cite the loss of personal data by HM Revenue and Customs, the tax credit system and the proposed national identity register as examples of the Government's "bureaucratic over-reach".

And he will accuse ministers of allowing the state to "creep further and further into the lives of British people", driven by an "outdated ideology" that politicians and officials know better than ordinary citizens how they should run their own lives.

In a speech to a conference of the Czech Republic's ruling Civic Democratic Party (ODS) in Prague, Mr Cameron will also target the EU for its drive towards harmonisation of regulations and taxes across different European states.

And he will pledge to fight those who he terms the "enemies of freedom", whom he will accuse of preparing "a renewed assault on our liberty".

Mr Cameron is expected to say: "The battle for freedom and opportunity is never finally won.

"In each generation, those of us who believe in freedom, in human potential, in the idea that the strength of our society comes from the energy and industry and creativity of our people; those of us who believe in these things must be ready to fight for them because the enemies of freedom are never finally vanquished. They always live to fight another day.

"Today we can see the enemies of freedom preparing a renewed assault on our liberty. They do not mean to harm us. In fact, they mean to help us. But their ideas are out of date, their methods have failed and their advance must be derailed. I am speaking of the politicians and public officials who believe that they know best how to organise our lives. That they are the experts, so they must have the power."

Mr Cameron will say that the "enemies of freedom" can be found in all countries, defending the structures of the "bureaucratic age" against the new liberties made possible by the information revolution of recent decades.

And he will warn: "In their desire to control, to regulate, to direct, the defenders of the bureaucratic age have over-reached themselves. They have gone too far. They have tried to do too much. And it has exposed the historic error of their ways."