By . Matt Chorley, Mailonline Political Editor . PUBLISHED: . 09:51 EST, 17 September 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 06:17 EST, 18 September 2013 . Google Street View has been criticised by a Home Office minister after he was captured walking along a London street. Lib Dem Jeremy Browne said he was alarmed at the 'intrusiveness' of images on the website and questioned why more was not done to hide the identities of people photographed by the firm's cameras. He said the Google cars which tour roads throughout Britain were 'unnerving' and suggested the private firms should face more regulation. Standing out: Home Office minister Jeremy Browne has been captured on Google Street view carrying his ministerial red box in London . Media darling: Mr Browne has made headlines during the Lib Dem conference with remarks on immigration, religious veils and the future of the party . Captured walking near Paddington railway . station, it is thought he was rushing to catch a train to his Taunton . constituency when he was snapped by the Street View cameras. He told MailOnline: 'They are meant to make it impossible to identify the person. It would not be very hard to work out it was me.' Mr Browne is seen as one of the leading voices on the right of the Lib Dems, urging his party to ‘grow up’ and not be ‘bashful’ about being in government. His run of media appearances and staunch defence of remaining in government has seen him emerge as a strong contender for the party leadership, to the irritation of left wing members. One leading left wing minister dismissed the leadership talk: 'If he is on manoeuvres they will have to be very long ones.' In recent days he has dismissed fears about an influx of immigrants from eastern Europe and called for a national debate on banning religious veils in some circumstances. Now he has questioned the level of privacy regulation governing private firms who take images of members of the public. He told journalists: 'I think there is an issue about the intrusiveness of modern technology. It is why the government is right to be alert to the public concern about excessive use of CCTV. 'We need to get the balance right with using technology to prevent crime and people not feeling that every time they enter a public space their movements will be potentially permanently recorded. 'I do find the surveillance vehicles with cameras on top slightly unnerving when they drive past. 'Campaigners are always most alert to the threats to individual liberties that can be caused by the state but we also need to be guarded about how the evolution of technology means that private organisations can also intrude into individual privacy in a way that many people would find unsettling. 'Quite often the state is more regulated than private organisations.' Stroll: Mr Browne, tipped as a potential future leader, was seen outside the Hilton hotel near Paddington station . Manoeuvres: Mr Browne's media profile has seen him emerge as a potential leadership challenger . Last week Mr Browne made headlines . after saying workers from Romania and Bulgaria expected to flock to the . UK next year are no different to Brits who own holiday homes in France . or Spain. He insisted he was . relaxed about the numbers of migrant workers who could come to Britain . when working limits on the two countries are lifted next year. He . made the front pages again this week after he suggested the Government . should consider banning Muslim girls and young women from wearing the . veil in public places. Mr Browne said he was ‘instinctively uneasy’ about restricting religious freedoms, but he added there may be a case to act to protect girls who were too young to decide for themselves whether they wished to wear the veil or not.’ ‘There is genuine debate about whether girls should feel a compulsion to wear a veil when society deems children to be unable to express personal choices about other areas like buying alcohol, smoking or getting married. ‘We should be very cautious about imposing religious conformity on a society which has always valued freedom of expression.’ Risky? David Cameron, pictured with his red box on a train to Cardiff two years ago, is said to have left it unattended on a train last week . A former press officer for the party, . Mr Browne was elected in 2005 and became a foreign office minister when . the coalition was formed, before moving to the home office last year. He . has repeatedly argued that the Lib Dems must mature into a party of . government. Yesterday he Home Office minister Jeremy Browne also took a . thinly-veiled swipe at Mr Cable’s tendency to try to appear ‘bashful’ about being part of the coalition. Speaking at a Policy Exchange fringe event, Mr Browne did not mention Mr Cable by name. But . he warned: ‘The task for us as a party is to ask ourselves are we proud . of our government or are we ashamed of it? We need to sell the purpose . of the government rather than feeling bashful about it. ‘We shouldn’t equivocate when it comes to the role we have played in the gradual national recovery. ‘If we don’t associate ourselves with those achievements, we don’t deserve to be associated with the recovery by anybody else.' Last week David Cameron was left red-faced after apparently leaving his ministerial red box unattended on a train – with the key still in its lock. He had been using the distinctive briefcase, bearing his title of ‘Prime Minister’, to carry official papers as he travelled to a wedding in Yorkshire. It was photographed by a fellow passenger, seemingly unattended on a table, after Mr Cameron wandered to another part of the train.
Taunton MP caught on camera walking along street with red ministerial box .
He has made headlines with comments on immigration and religious veils .
Senior voice on right wing of the party emerges as potential future leader .
But one left-wing minister dimisses they idea, saying: 'If he's on manoeuvres they will have to be very long ones'
By . Matt Chorley, Mailonline Political Editor . PUBLISHED: . 09:51 EST, 17 September 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 06:17 EST, 18 September 2013 . Google Street View has been criticised by a Home Office minister after he was captured walking along a London street. Lib Dem Jeremy Browne said he was alarmed at the 'intrusiveness' of images on the website and questioned why more was not done to hide the identities of people photographed by the firm's cameras. He said the Google cars which tour roads throughout Britain were 'unnerving' and suggested the private firms should face more regulation. Standing out: Home Office minister Jeremy Browne has been captured on Google Street view carrying his ministerial red box in London . Media darling: Mr Browne has made headlines during the Lib Dem conference with remarks on immigration, religious veils and the future of the party . Captured walking near Paddington railway . station, it is thought he was rushing to catch a train to his Taunton . constituency when he was snapped by the Street View cameras. He told MailOnline: 'They are meant to make it impossible to identify the person. It would not be very hard to work out it was me.' Mr Browne is seen as one of the leading voices on the right of the Lib Dems, urging his party to ‘grow up’ and not be ‘bashful’ about being in government. His run of media appearances and staunch defence of remaining in government has seen him emerge as a strong contender for the party leadership, to the irritation of left wing members. One leading left wing minister dismissed the leadership talk: 'If he is on manoeuvres they will have to be very long ones.' In recent days he has dismissed fears about an influx of immigrants from eastern Europe and called for a national debate on banning religious veils in some circumstances. Now he has questioned the level of privacy regulation governing private firms who take images of members of the public. He told journalists: 'I think there is an issue about the intrusiveness of modern technology. It is why the government is right to be alert to the public concern about excessive use of CCTV. 'We need to get the balance right with using technology to prevent crime and people not feeling that every time they enter a public space their movements will be potentially permanently recorded. 'I do find the surveillance vehicles with cameras on top slightly unnerving when they drive past. 'Campaigners are always most alert to the threats to individual liberties that can be caused by the state but we also need to be guarded about how the evolution of technology means that private organisations can also intrude into individual privacy in a way that many people would find unsettling. 'Quite often the state is more regulated than private organisations.' Stroll: Mr Browne, tipped as a potential future leader, was seen outside the Hilton hotel near Paddington station . Manoeuvres: Mr Browne's media profile has seen him emerge as a potential leadership challenger . Last week Mr Browne made headlines . after saying workers from Romania and Bulgaria expected to flock to the . UK next year are no different to Brits who own holiday homes in France . or Spain. He insisted he was . relaxed about the numbers of migrant workers who could come to Britain . when working limits on the two countries are lifted next year. He . made the front pages again this week after he suggested the Government . should consider banning Muslim girls and young women from wearing the . veil in public places. Mr Browne said he was ‘instinctively uneasy’ about restricting religious freedoms, but he added there may be a case to act to protect girls who were too young to decide for themselves whether they wished to wear the veil or not.’ ‘There is genuine debate about whether girls should feel a compulsion to wear a veil when society deems children to be unable to express personal choices about other areas like buying alcohol, smoking or getting married. ‘We should be very cautious about imposing religious conformity on a society which has always valued freedom of expression.’ Risky? David Cameron, pictured with his red box on a train to Cardiff two years ago, is said to have left it unattended on a train last week . A former press officer for the party, . Mr Browne was elected in 2005 and became a foreign office minister when . the coalition was formed, before moving to the home office last year. He . has repeatedly argued that the Lib Dems must mature into a party of . government. Yesterday he Home Office minister Jeremy Browne also took a . thinly-veiled swipe at Mr Cable’s tendency to try to appear ‘bashful’ about being part of the coalition. Speaking at a Policy Exchange fringe event, Mr Browne did not mention Mr Cable by name. But . he warned: ‘The task for us as a party is to ask ourselves are we proud . of our government or are we ashamed of it? We need to sell the purpose . of the government rather than feeling bashful about it. ‘We shouldn’t equivocate when it comes to the role we have played in the gradual national recovery. ‘If we don’t associate ourselves with those achievements, we don’t deserve to be associated with the recovery by anybody else.' Last week David Cameron was left red-faced after apparently leaving his ministerial red box unattended on a train – with the key still in its lock. He had been using the distinctive briefcase, bearing his title of ‘Prime Minister’, to carry official papers as he travelled to a wedding in Yorkshire. It was photographed by a fellow passenger, seemingly unattended on a table, after Mr Cameron wandered to another part of the train.
minister after he was captured walking along a Media darling: Mr Browne has made headlines immigration, religious veils and the future of the party . Captured walking near Paddington seen as one of the leading voices on the right of he is on manoeuvres they will have to be very Browne, tipped as a potential future leader, was leaving his ministerial red box unattended on a