The outgoing Director of Public Prosecutions Sir Ken Macdonald QC has warned Britain against a Security State. His warning comes after the home secretary announced proposals for a database for mobile and internet traffic.

Sir Ken in his final speech as DPP called for "level headedness" and restraint to uphold hard-won freedoms, continuing, "We need to take very great care not to fall into a way of life in which freedom's back is broken by the relentless pressure of a security state".

Sir Ken warned against granting the state "enormous powers" to access knowledge and information about ordinary people's lives.

He indicated that serious consideration needed to be lent to how the state may use such powers and to what extent and to the serious possibility that they would be irreversible, indicating that they will be with us forever and will form the foundation for further laws. He stated, "So we should take very great care to imagine the world we are creating before we build it."

Orwellian State

The comments from Sir Ken follow in the wake of the Home Office announcement to create a massive database, intruding upon all mobile phone and Internet traffic and incorporating any other advancements in technology.

Sir Ken did not refer to these proposals in his speech, but questioned a system which states that we cannot afford to give people their rights and that rights are too expensive because of the nature of the threats we are facing. Rather he stated "that our rights are priceless" and "that the best way to face down those threats is to strengthen our institutions, rather than to degrade them".

Mr Starmer takes up the post of DPP from Sir Ken on 1st November.