“Increasing alarm” over ID cards
The Information Commissioner has warned he has “increasing concerns” about the Government’s draft bill on identity cards.
Though emphasising that he is not against identity cards in principle, Richard Thomas stressed that what is being proposed in the UK goes far beyond any existing scheme.
The first phase of the scheme is due to be rolled out in 2007-2008, and is intended to cover 80 per cent of the adult population within five years.
Currently, 100,000 people are involved in identity card trials.
Mr Thomas argued that the scheme has morphed into being about a national identity register, rather than ID cards, and expressed grave concerns about the objectives of the scheme and confidentiality safeguards.
In a detailed rebuttal of the plans, Mr Thomas told the Commons Home Affairs Select Committee that IT cards would be a “very very attractive proposition” for criminals to forge given the Government’s plans to link them with the provision of services.
Warning the committee that the technology is not yet fully tested, he also emphasised that any mistakes could have very serious consequences for the individual.
Mr Thomas also noted that the so-called voluntary stage – where ID cards will not be compulsory for the general population but all new passport and driving licenses would contain biometric data – is not really voluntary if people have to renew documents.
He raised grave concerns about the possibility of people being entered onto the register without their knowledge, and described as “very strange” the lack of provision for citizens to check their own records.
There should be “strong independent oversight” of the plans with an annual report to Parliament, the Commissioner concluded.
The Information Commissioner is responsible for the enforcement of the Data Protection and Freedom of Information Acts and reports directly to Parliament.
His concerns are likely to prove a welcome boast to civil liberty campaigns against identity cards.
