Most don't trust Government on data

A study by campaign group Big Brother Watch found 86% of those polled said they feared for the safety of private data in the Government's hands.

Trust levels are plummeting, as a similar study seven years ago found just over half of people lacking trust in Government.

Since then a series of data-loss scandals such as the loss of a disk containing details of all child benefit claimants have undermined confidence.

It emerged two years ago that 25 million records, including names, addresses, dates of birth and bank details had been lost in the post.

The study revealed nearly eight out of ten people fear their freedoms are being eroded by the state. Eight out of 10 also said they were opposed to councils putting microchips in waste bins to monitor how much rubbish people throw away.

Alex Deane, director of Big Brother Watch said: "Britain is a country rightly known around the world as a cradle of liberty and freedom. But as these results show, most people now feel that our freedoms are being eroded.

"We are the victims of ever more intrusive policies, pushing more and more into the details of our lives.

"The Government doesn't seem to care that Big Brother Britain has been rejected by the vast majority of people who live here. They continue to pursue expensive and invasive surveillance methods that serve only to create criminals out of otherwise law-abiding citizens."

A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: "The Government takes the protection of personal data extremely seriously."