Cameron slams 'enemies of freedom'

The Conservative leader said Labour shared with EU bureaucrats a belief that officials know better than ordinary people, and accused both of trying to involve the state ever deeper in day-to-day life.

In a speech in the Czech capital, Prague, Mr Cameron cited 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 accused ministers of allowing the state to "creep further and further into the lives of British people", driven by an "outdated ideology" that politicians and officials know better than ordinary citizens how they should run their own lives.

Addressing a conference of the ruling Civic Democratic Party (ODS), Mr Cameron hailed the Czech party's record of cutting taxes, introducing economic reform and fighting EU regulation.

He told activists that both the ODS and the Conservatives were engaged in a battle against "a renewed assault on our liberty", but assured them that "today, in this continent and around the world, history is on our side".

Mr Cameron said: "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 But their ideas are out of date, their methods have failed and their advance must be derailed.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 said the "enemies of freedom" could 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.