Perry de Havilland of Samizdata writes:

I wrote to the Department of Culture, Media & Sport (!) back on 10th January to nominate the CCTV camera as an 'icon of England'... and they have just written back accepting the nomination.

Interesting.

Back in October, Virginia Postrel noted the key difference between US and UK security procedures:

In London, you are videotaped--and told you are being videotaped--everywhere. But you can walk into a crowded train station or an art museum filled with tourists and priceless treasures without showing anyone the contents of your bag. Even airport security is much more casual than the ritualistic shoe stripping and computer segregation of U.S. airports. I'm not convinced that either surveillance or routine search does much to prevent terrorist attacks. But, while less avoidable (at least in theory), the British way is certainly less intrusive. I'd rather be watched than searched.

At least you can make the argument that security cameras are a necessary evil. I certainly wouldn't say the same thing about England's ubiquitous speed cameras, making criminals out of otherwise innocent motorists.