Privacy International and the Electronic Privacy Information Center released Privacy and Human Rights 2003 on 5 September. The report reviews the state of privacy in 55 countries around the world. Issues covered include data protection, surveillance, anti-terrorism efforts and new technologies. This is what it has to say about the UK:

The privacy picture in the UK is mixed. There is, at some levels, a strong public recognition and defense of privacy. Proposals to establish a national identity card, for example, have routinely failed to achieve broad political support. On the other hand, crime and public order laws passed in recent years have placed substantial limitations on numerous rights, including freedom of assembly, privacy, freedom of movement, the right of silence, and freedom of speech.