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How a Big Brother box in every boot will make sure you pay as you drive

Every car will be fitted with a Big Brother-style black box which will charge drivers for using major roads under new laws planned by ministers.

The Government wants 'spy in the sky' technology to track the 31million cars in Britain in a bid to cut congestion.

Drivers using major city centre and trunk roads would be hit by a pay-as-you-drive tax of as much as £1.34 a mile. To add insult to injury, car owners would have to pay £200 to £400 to install the palm-sized unit in the boot or on the dashboard.

And there are fears that the black box, using the same global positioning satellites as in-car navigation systems, could be used much more widely. Anyone who parks on a double yellow line or nudges over the speed limit would be caught as the hi-tech equipment sends data to a central computer. Although the black box idea has been floated by ministers before, there are now plans to put it before Parliament for the first time, possibly next year.

Transport Secretary Douglas Alexander - a Scottish MP whose Paisley and Renfrewshire constituency would not be affected by English transport legislation --believes the scheme would cut congestion and improve public transport. Ministersare looking at introducing it in 2009, the EU's target date for fitting new cars with black boxes to alert the emergency services automatically after a crash.

The plan, revealed in a leaked letter to Commons Leader Jack Straw, was condemned by motoring and civil liberties groups as a huge extension of the Big Brother state.

Paul Watters of the AA said: 'People will be very alarmed at their privacy being invaded.' Tony Bosworth,of Friends of the Earth, said: 'This can only be part of the solution. The Government must invest more in public transport, cycle routes and pedestrian access.'

The Transport Department said: 'The Government has been very clear about the need to explore road pricing. It is only right that we explore what legislation might be required.'

How they will be able to fit the 'black boxes' to classic cars with, say, +ve earth electrical systems,