Home Office gets wooden spoon in Big Brother Awards

The UK's Home Secretary, Jack Straw, and the Home Office were reluctantly awarded the booby prizes at a ceremony in London last night, in honour of projects and people that have drawn the attention of privacy campaigners.

The Home Office received the 'Lifetime Menace' award for a series of projects, including the Interception of Communications Act, the creation of a DNA database for police suspects and its opposition to EU data protection legislation. Jack Straw picked up the award for Worst Public Servant.

The Big Brother awards, organised by human rights group Privacy International, also named communications giant, Racal, for its electronic surveillance system and credit management firm, Experian, for its use of UK electoral roll data.

The awards also recognised work by individuals to protect personal data and privacy. One of the winners, Tony Bunyon of privacy group Statewatch, admitted his work meant he was "not always popular with governments".

Fleur Fisher, who was recognised for her work with the British Medical Association (BMA) in protecting patient records, said it is fundamentally important to ensure trust in the doctor/patient relationship. "The BMA created the first data security policy in the world which looked at personal information. It was a great thing for us to be able to do," she said.

Other winners included Clive Norris and Gary Armstong for their work in investigating the effects of CCTV, and David Burke for his book on the dangers of interactive television.