Big Brother Awards (United Kingdom)
Encyclopedia
The Big Brother Awards
(the Winston Awards) for the United Kingdom
2008 Winston Awards
2003 Winston Awards
2002 Winston Awards
2000 Winston Awards
1998 Winston Awards
Big Brother Awards
The Big Brother Awards recognize "the government and private sector organizations ... which have done the most to threaten personal privacy".They are named after the George Orwell character Big Brother from the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four.-Countries:...
(the Winston Awards) for the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
2008
A single Big Brother award was won by New Labour.2008 Winston Awards
- Baroness Sarah Ludford
- Phil Booth, National Coordinator of NO2IDNO2IDNO2ID, the public campaign, was formed in 2004 to campaign against the United Kingdom government's plans to introduce UK ID Cards and the associated National Identity Register, which it believes has negative implications for privacy, civil liberties and personal safety.NO2ID is entirely independent...
- Helen WallaceHelen WallaceDame Helen Sarah Wallace, Lady Wallace of Saltaire, DBE, CMG, FBA , née Rushworth, is a British expert in European Studies and, by marriage to William Wallace, Baron Wallace of Saltaire, a peeress....
, Executive Director of GeneWatch UK - Gareth Crossman, retiring Director of Policy at LibertyLiberty (pressure group)Liberty is a pressure group based in the United Kingdom. Its formal name is the National Council for Civil Liberties . Founded in 1934 by Ronald Kidd and Sylvia Crowther-Smith , the group campaigns to protect civil liberties and promote human rights...
. - Becky HoggeBecky HoggeBecky Hogge is a UK-based music and technology writer and the first full-time executive director of the Open Rights Group, resigning in 2008. She was previously the managing editor, and then the technology director and technology commissioning editor for openDemocracy.net...
, retiring Executive Director of the Open Rights GroupOpen Rights GroupThe Open Rights Group is a UK-based organisation that works to preserve digital rights and freedoms by campaigning on digital rights issues, acting as a media clearinghouse service putting journalists in touch with experts, and by fostering a community of grassroots activists...
. - David DavisDavid Davis (British politician)David Michael Davis is a British Conservative Party politician who is the Member of Parliament for the constituency of Haltemprice and Howden...
2003
The 2003 awards went to:- Ken LivingstoneKen LivingstoneKenneth Robert "Ken" Livingstone is an English politician who is currently a member of the centrist to centre-left Labour Party...
—Worst Civil Servant - Capita—Most invasive company
- PIU Data Sharing Report—Most appalling project
- Association of Chief Police Officers(ACPO)—Most heinous government organisation.
- Tony BlairTony BlairAnthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
—Lifetime menace - David BlunkettDavid BlunkettDavid Blunkett is a British Labour Party politician and the Member of Parliament for Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough, having represented Sheffield Brightside from 1987 to 2010...
—"Dog Poo On A Stick" prize
2003 Winston Awards
- Posthumously, to Dr Roger NeedhamRoger NeedhamRoger Michael Needham, CBE, FRS, FREng was a British computer scientist.-Early life:He attended Doncaster Grammar School for Boys in Doncaster ....
- Teri Dowty, Joint national coordinator, Childrens Rights Alliance for England and Wales
- Marion Chester, Legal Director, Association of Community Health Councils of England and Wales
- Stand insurance blog
- Richard Norton-TaylorRichard Norton-TaylorRichard Norton-Taylor is a British editor, journalist and playwright.He is a security-affairs editor of the British newspaper The Guardian.-Early life and education:...
and Stuart Millar of the GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format... - UndercurrentsUndercurrents (news)Undercurrents is an alternative video news network which began with the UK distribution of videotapes shot by volunteers. It has since expanded to include a web presence, media training for volunteers, and a film festival, BeyondTV.-History:...
2002
The 2002 awards went to:- Sir Richard Wilson—Worst Civil Servant
- Norwich UnionNorwich UnionNorwich Union was the name given to insurance company Aviva's British arm before June 2009. It was originally established in 1797. It is the biggest life insurance provider in the United Kingdom, and has a strong position in motor insurance...
—Most invasive company - The National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCISNCIS (TV series)NCIS, formerly known as NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service, is an American police procedural drama television series revolving around a fictional team of special agents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, which conducts criminal investigations involving the U.S...
)—Most appalling project - The Department for Education and Skills—Most heinous government organisation.
- The national identification and data sharing scheme—Lifetime menace
2002 Winston Awards
- Maurice FrankelMaurice FrankelMaurice Frankel is director of the UK Campaign for Freedom of Information.He has worked with the Campaign for Freedom of Information since it was set up in 1984, and has been its director since 1987...
, director of the Campaign for Freedom of InformationCampaign for Freedom of InformationThe Campaign for Freedom of Information is a lobbying group based in the United Kingdom that campaigns for Freedom of information in the United Kingdom and against unnecessary secrecy by the UK Government.It is not affiliated with any political party....
. - Andrew Phillips, Baron Phillips of SudburyAndrew Phillips, Baron Phillips of SudburyAndrew Wyndham Phillips, Baron Phillips of Sudbury, OBE is a solicitor and Liberal Democrat politician.-Education and Law Practice:...
- The Daily Telegraph's "Free Country Campaign".
- Ilka Schroder a German Greens Member of the European ParliamentMember of the European ParliamentA Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. The name of MEPs differ in different languages, with terms such as europarliamentarian or eurodeputy being common in Romance language-speaking areas.When the European Parliament was first established,...
- David ShaylerDavid ShaylerDavid Shayler is a British journalist and former MI5 officer. Shayler earned notoriety after being prosecuted under the Official Secrets Act 1989 for his passing secret documents to the Mail on Sunday in August 1997 that alleged that MI5 was paranoid about socialists, and that it had previously...
2000
The 2000 awards were made on 4 December and went to:- The National DNA Database—Most Invasive Proposal
- Envision Licensing Ltd—Most Invasive Company (for TV licensing)
- Javier SolanaJavier SolanaFrancisco Javier Solana de Madariaga, KOGF is a Spanish physicist and Socialist politician. After serving in the Spanish government under Felipe González and Secretary General of NATO , he was appointed the European Union's High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy, Secretary...
—Security-General of Council of European Union - The NHS Executive—Most Heinous Government Organisation
- Jack StrawJack StrawJack Straw , British politician.Jack Straw may also refer to:* Jack Straw , English* "Jack Straw" , 1971 song by the Grateful Dead* Jack Straw by W...
—Lifetime Menace
2000 Winston Awards
- Professor Jason Ditton
- The Rt Hon the Lord Cope of Berkeley
- The Manufacturing, Science and Finance Union
- Caspar Bowden
- Ben Rooney
1998 (first year)
The 1998 awards went to:- Corporation: Procurement Services International for selling surveillance equipment to NigeriaNigeriaNigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
, TurkeyTurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
and IndonesiaIndonesiaIndonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, three countries whose human rights records have been severely criticised.
- Local government: Newham Council in LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
won for using its 140 street cameras and facial-recognition software to try to pick out criminals in crowds.
- National government: Department of Trade and IndustryDepartment of Trade and IndustryThe Department of Trade and Industry was a United Kingdom government department which was replaced with the announcement of the creation of the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills on 28 June 2007.-History:The...
(DTI) over its plans for the police to have access through a third party to the keys to any information sent electronically that was locked by encryption.
- Product: Software by Harlequin that examines telephone records and is able to compare numbers dialled in order to group users into 'friendship networks' won this category. It avoids the legal requirements needed for phone tapping.
- Lifetime achievement award: Menwith Hill in YorkshireYorkshireYorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
, a listening station used by America's National Security AgencyNational Security AgencyThe National Security Agency/Central Security Service is a cryptologic intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the collection and analysis of foreign communications and foreign signals intelligence, as well as protecting U.S...
and described as the biggest US spy station in the world, won this special award.
1998 Winston Awards
- SchNEWSSchNEWSSchNEWS is a free weekly publication from Brighton, England, which has been running since November 1994. The main focus is environmental and social issues/struggles in the UK – but also internationally – with an emphasis on direct action protest, and autonomous political struggles...
a Brighton based weekly newsletter - Lindis PercyLindis PercyLindis Percy is a prominent peace activist in the United Kingdom and founding member and joint coordinator of the Campaign for the Accountability of American Bases. Reporting for The Guardian, journalist Rob Evans claimed that "there must surely be few Britons who have been arrested in political...
, a Quaker, who attempts to raise awareness of the activities of the United States National Security AgencyNational Security AgencyThe National Security Agency/Central Security Service is a cryptologic intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the collection and analysis of foreign communications and foreign signals intelligence, as well as protecting U.S...
, particularly relating to Menwith Hill, (joint coordinator of the Campaign for the Accountability of American Bases) - Alan LodgeAlan LodgeAlan Lodge , also known as 'Tash' is an English photographer based in Nottingham who has focused on alternative movements since the mid 70s....
a Nottingham photographer who spent a decade raising awareness of Police surveillance activities, particularly the practice of photographing demonstrators, activists and minority groups.