Charles Clarke: Newspeak Supremo

I see the UK government had less than a stunning success in the debate in the Commons over ID cards last night. Although they won the debate to continue with the proposals, their majority was halved.

 

But the highlight in the debate was Charles Clarke saying: "I argue the ID card system is a bulwark against the surveillance society, the Big Brother society, and not a further contribution to it".

 

Er, say what? That is as perfect expression of Orwellian Newspeak as I think I’ve heard in recent times. And in case you think it was a slip of the tongue, Clarke has obviously been saving this up, as reported by Chicken Yoghurt.