Kirsty McCluckie: Our liberty is a small price to pay to keep the verges tidy

I'VE always been opposed to governments' increasing checks on their population: the hidden surveillance using CCTV cameras; the suggestion that it might be a good idea to keep everyone's DNA on file, whether or not we are criminals; and the introduction of identity cards from birth.

But perhaps I am just following the well-worn path of becoming less liberal and more reactionary as I get older, because the news that drivers will be fined if caught on camera throwing litter from their cars makes me hop from foot to foot and rub my...