UK Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has shared her vision for the state’s use of AI and technology on the public. Inspired by 18th-century philosopher Bentham’s ‘Panopticon’, Mahmood says she wants constant state surveillance over UK citizens.
Actual quote from Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood pic.twitter.com/tc3cGbORtK
— Stats for Lefties
(@LeftieStats) January 19, 2026
Shabana Mahmood and a police state
Mahmood’s controversial and authoritarian comments came in a Telegraph article, in which she said she’s aiming for ‘Minority Report-style’ policing. This should strike fear in the hearts of every citizen, as our Home Secretary appears to suggest that the advance prediction of crime is the goal, rather than to tackle crimes that have actually been committed.
Philosopher Jeremy Bentham attempted to introduce the ‘panopticon’ prison system in the late 18th century, arguing it was the ‘perfect’ prison. With prison guards at its centre, the prisoners would surround them providing a 360-degree view for ‘monitoring’ behaviour. However, it’s very design would have had such an impact on prisoners’ psychological wellbeing that Bentham was never able to realise his ambition of the ultimate ‘surveillance prison’.
This X post exposes Bentham’s history, showing that his ideas were seen as a step too far even in an era of limited citizen rights:
For those who do not know, the ‘Panopticon’ was a plan for a ‘perfect’ prison. The cells were arranged in a multistory disc around a central guard tower. Because the guards would have a complete view into any of the cells at any time, but the guards in the tower could not be… https://t.co/lkAxL9hngP pic.twitter.com/NE3dZCbLXW
— Collingwood
(@admcollingwood) January 19, 2026
The post in full reads:
For those who do not know, the ‘Panopticon’ was a plan for a ‘perfect’ prison. The cells were arranged in a multistory disc around a central guard tower. Because the guards would have a complete view into any of the cells at any time, but the guards in the tower could not be observed from the cells, the inmates would have no idea if they are being viewed or not, but know they could be at any time. Therefore, the theory went, they would be forced to act as though they were being viewed.
Ultimately, the psychological effects of such living were considered too cruel for even prisoners to endure, and such a custodial facility was never built. Many indeed consider the entire concept of the Panopticon the foundation of the theory of totalitarian regimes in operation: if it could seek to arrange society so they every citizen may be watched at any time but cannot know whether they are being watched or not (e.g. the telescreens in Nineteen Eighty-Four’s Oceania) a regime could force all citizens to act as though they were being watched at any given time.
And this is what our Home Secretary—the office in charge of the police and MI5 and the justice system—wants to impose on us. This is her dream society. Not even joking or embellishing.
An ordinary British citizen had significantly fewer rights and freedoms during the 1700’s. This just makes it all the more troubling that our current government appear intent on reversing that progress in civil law. This Labour government have already been condemned with its ‘war on protest’ by Human Rights Watch (HRW). We wrote about Starmer’s use of ‘lawfare’ earlier this month, saying:
HRW says that Starmer’s actions – which are unquestionably intended to protect Israel and corporations – breach the UK’s obligations under international law. This has led to a draconian “criminalization” of actions that would previously either not have been prosecuted at all, or would have received far lower sentences.
Nevertheless, concern about our psychological well being clearly doesn’t register for our Home Secretary. This statement shows she’s more than prepared to take the vision further and ensure that the state can have ‘eyes’ on every British citizen. It’s also deeply irresponsible when its highly likely we will see a far-right government win the next election, as the X post below points out:
The current Labour front bench are deeply authoritarian and illiberal. You couldn’t have a worse government preceding a far right one – all their measures (cracking down on protest, surveillance, scrapping juries etc) set the stage and create a precedent for the Right https://t.co/SzDgX2ZZYI
— Bill Murphy (@william_murphy7) January 20, 2026
Eyes on everyone, everywhere
The theory this rests on is true; people change their behavior when they’re under watch. Mahmood now appears to want to monitor us all the time. This Orwellian overreach of the state would seek to control how we act and strip away our right to privacy. The impact this would also have on our court system, and the legal doctrine of ‘innocent until proven guilty’ is also deeply concerning. And even more worryingly, she isn’t afraid to hide it suggesting a confidence in being able to achieve it.
Whether that purview will also monitor the behaviour of billionaires and big corporations in the country remains to be seen. Highly doubt their funders would like that, though.
As ever, one rule for them, and another rule for the rest of us.
Featured image via the Canary
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