LAST week I found myself wandering around one of the less desirable boroughs of West London, having managed to get hopelessly lost while attempting to visit my sister.

I figured I’d see the sights, get some fresh air and avoid the melee on London Underground. It’s a pretty solid plan unless, like me, you have a sense of direction on a par with a confused squirrel.

You can always make the most of the latest and greatest technology, of course. Google Maps is absolutely the way forward. However, when you start waving an iPhone around in one of London’s grimmer neighbourhoods, you’re just asking for trouble – or at least inviting it. That’s why the plethora of CCTV cameras offered at least some reassurance. I was safe in the knowledge that if I was horrifically mugged, someone, somewhere would be watching.

It’s often said that we’re the most watched nation on earth. Big Brother is always casting its beady eye. Unless you live somewhere ridiculously rural, there’s no escape. And, to be quite honest, even if you do live in deepest darkest Devon, the chances are you’re still caught on camera several times a day.

Personally, I don’t have a massive issue with it. It might feel a little intrusive at times, but surely the positives outweigh the negatives?

With that in mind, though, things can still go too far. According to documents leaked by whistle-blower Edward Snowden, GCHQ operated a secret surveillance operation called “optic nerve”. Put simply, this involved capturing millions of images from Yahoo webcam chats. Apparently Yahoo is the webcam chat of choice for aspiring terrorists, hence GCHQ’s interest. However, there’s a clear issue here. Funnily enough, most Yahoo customers aren’t terrorists. In fact, I’d estimate 99.5% of its customers have never felt the need to indulge in any terror-related activity.

GCHQ would argue that it has no issue with the 99.5%. It’s the 0.5% who are up to mischief that they’re looking out for.

I’m all in favour of Defence of the Realm, but this sort of activity is a clear violation of privacy. Surely it’s indefensible?

This almost certainly isn’t a one off. Sitting in a bunker, on an enormous array of servers, will be all of your texts, instant messages, webcam chats and much more.

You know what’s most disconcerting, though? There’s not one thing you can do about it.