Orwell would raise a concerned eyebrow at one particular law on the books waiting for the right crisis to come along, it's the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 whose emergency powers would lift the totalitarian heart of dear old Joe Stalin himself from beyond the grave.

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2004/36/part/2

22 Scope of emergency regulations

(b)provide for or enable the requisition or confiscation of property (with or without compensation);
(c)provide for or enable the destruction of property, animal life or plant life (with or without compensation);
(d)prohibit, or enable the prohibition of, movement to or from a specified place;
(e)require, or enable the requirement of, movement to or from a specified place;