Secret services to be given access to ID card database
By Nigel Morris Home Affairs Correspondent
28 October 2004
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/story.jsp?story=576769
The Independent
The intelligence services will be given unprecedented access to the
government database underpinning the controversial identity card scheme, the
Home Office said yesterday, prompting accusations of Big Brother-style
surveillance of people's everyday lives.
The plan emerged as David Blunkett, the Home Secretary, announced
"refinements" to his ID card proposals, saying that the central register
containing the cards' information would provide a "full audit trail" of when
and where they were used. This could include every time holders use public
services - including hospitals, benefits offices or colleges - buy an
expensive item or make large withdrawals from banks.
The Home Office insisted that only the security services, such as MI5 and
MI6, and not police or government officials, would be allowed to access the
data.
But a spokesman for Liberty, the civil liberties organisation, said: "It's
very easy to say today that only intelligence services could access this
information. But they can't say that would be the case in five years' time.
Once the information is in the system, it's open to misuse."
The Liberal Democrat MP, Bob Russell, of the Home Affairs Select Committee ,
said: "We've entered the world of George Orwell's 1984 20 years late."
The Home Office also announced yesterday that the Government had scrapped
the idea of combining the ID card with passports and driving licences.
Having assessed the "cost, implementation and risk considerations", it said
it had decided to introduce a separate, free-standing card.
Under Mr Blunkett's proposals, the cards will include "biometric" details of
each cardholder, such as fingerprints, an electronic scan of the face or the
iris. These unique features will be compared against records held on a
central National Identity Register - theoretically making the cards
impossible to forge.
The Home Office had originally planned to phase in ID cards from 2007-08, as
people applied for new or replacement passports, with combined driving
licences and ID cards following a few years later. However, passport
applicants from 2007-08 onwards will now get a new biometric passport and a
separate biometric ID card.
The moves were announced in response to a recent report from the Home
Affairs Select Committee, which broadly welcomed the ID card plans, but
warned that some details were "poorly thought out".
This week Tony Blair said ID cards had an "important role" to play in
fighting serious crime and terrorism and tackling illegal immigration, and
hinted that legislation pushing ahead with them could be included in the
Queen's Speech next month.
Results of the Home Office's own consultation process released yesterday
revealed that 48 per cent of the public opposed the scheme, while 31 per
cent were in favour.
Mr Blunkett said yesterday: "Our plans to bring in a national ID card scheme
lie at the heart of our work to ensure that the UK can meet the challenges
of a changing world. Biometric ID cards will provide a simple and secure
means of verifying identity. This is a long-term project and we are
determined to get it right."
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