The government has lost control of the growing network of state databases monitoring every aspect of modern life, presenting dangers for basic liberties, a senior Labour MP warned yesterday.

John Denham, a former Home Office minister who is sometimes seen as an "outrider" for Tony Blair, the Prime Minister, and his political followers, called for a set of rules limiting the spread of so-called Big Brother databases, and clearly defining citizens[base '] rights to see and correct their records.