By Mick Meaney
RINF Alternative News

No, it’s not a joke and is possibly the lowest the surveillance society can go.

Unbelievably, at least three British pubs are using CCTV cameras in their loos - and the number is growing as a national chain has plans to install more cameras around the country.

Currently the pubs include two in Croydon, the Ship of Fools and The Skylark, along with The King James, a J D Wetherspoon’s in Hertfordshire.

This is a microcosm of what is happening all over the UK as Britain increasingly becomes a Big Brother state though government propaganda and scare tactics to convince us that we need protecting from terrorism, criminals and … ourselves.

27-year old manager of the Skylark, Kim McKay, said: “Unfortunately, there is a lot of drug use among youngsters today.

“It’s a good idea. I know people think it invades their privacy, but the cameras are situated so we only see what we need to see.

“We have had a lot of comments from regulars. They don’t like it, which is understandable, but they do understand why it’s there.”

However the pub has lowered the height of cubicle doors so that people’s faces can be seen as they come out, resulting in the invasion of privacy at the most inappropriate of levels.

These new measures are tasteless, indecent and lack common moral decency.

A spokesman for J D Wetherspoon had this to say: “There are cameras in the ladies and gents toilets at the pub in Cheshunt and at a number of other pubs.

“They are to keep an eye on any potential vandalism and general behaviour. The reason we do it is just for safety and to stop any problems. Others might disagree with the cameras being placed there but they will be staying. It is up to individual managers if they feel a need for them. It’s not a slur on the town.”

J D Wetherspoons is a nationwide chain of pubs, quiet often reffered to as “McPubs”, because they have no individuality. The fact these CCTV cameras will be used in all Wetherspoons is inevitable, spurring on other businesses to do the same in a game of surveillance catch-up.

One Wetherspoons regular, Ozzy Davies, of Hertfordshire, said: “As a family pub, I would have concerns that a woman struggling to cope with small children in the toilets may leave the door open presumably so she can keep an eye on the kids.

“The manager’s explanation was that it was put there to watch out for acts of vandalism and was not pointed directly at the urinals but there are numerous mirrors where a reflected image could possibly be seen. Even more disturbing was that mine was apparently the only complaint.”

This follows on from the installation of a pub fingerprint network in the UK which costs licensees just £1.50 a day to run, encouraging widespread growth and can be integrated with existing CCTV systems to check the identity of punters.