Brian Harvey against the State

You want evidence this nation is slowly turning into an Orwellian police state? Hey, look no further than Brian Harvey's video - snatched from under the very nose of The Man. He's fighting a one-man, rearguard action against erm, having to pay your electricity bill.

For reasons that remain unclear - although possibly related to not exactly being busy on the work front - Harvey hadn't paid for his electricity, and the courts ordered that he be put on a prepaid meter.

Given that he wasn't entirely co-operative, a warrant had to be obtained and, as is not unusual, police went along to make sure there was no trouble when the warrant was executed. "Executed", right, like AN ENEMY OF THE STATE. Harvey grabbed his video camera - which, luckily, had a fully-charged battery - and filmed this last erosion of a proud Briton's right to not pay for his electricity:

In the seven-minute clip, posted online, Harvey remonstrates with officials from the electricity company, claiming the warrant to enforce the installation of a pre-paid meter was obtained "illegally".

As at least three officers stand guard outside his home while the device is fitted, Harvey says into the camera, "Just to let everyone know, the police are now enforcing civil matters. Southern Electric are in my house now, fitting a pre-paid meter unlawfully."

Once the workmen are finished, they leave the scene as Harvey tells them: "Dogs, mate - the lot of you. Dogs. And there's the police enforcing it. Unbelievable... communist China springs to mind. Police state."

Thank God Brian is here to bring us the news that police help execute warrants by ensuring that there is no breach of the peace in the process, something that I think will shock and surprise us all. And when I say "us all", I mean "anyone under the age of seven who doesn't have any grasp of how these things work."

Still, it's exactly how Communist China started - one minute, you're making people pay for the electricity they use, the next you're holding large chunks of the American national debt. Let's all consider ourselves warned.