denny | Entries tagged with id cards

Brown under fire over secrecy on ID costs

Written in 2003, before the project was given the green light, the so-called 'gateway' reviews outline whether experts believe the scheme will be successful and how much it will cost.

The Information Tribunal, the body that hears appeals against freedom of information decisions, ruled that the Treasury must publish [the gateway review reports] this month. It reached the decision after receiving freedom of information requests from the Liberal Democrats and the anti-ID card campaign group, No2ID. Despite the tribunal's decision, the Treasury is refusing to hand over the documents. Instead it has lodged an appeal - kicking the issue into the long grass for months.

Current Mood: tired

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/AgainstIDcards/

Current Mood: busy

All fingerprints collected for ID cards will be cross-checked against prints from 900,000 unsolved crimes.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6378999.stm

To quote a Tory spokesman: "With the vast number of crimes involved, it is guaranteed there are going to be miscarriages of justice if the government goes down this route."

Current Mood: aggravated

The Government has been urged to ensure that taxpayers are not left with a huge bill if Labour loses the next election and identity cards are scrapped.

David Davis, the Shadow Home Secretary, wrote to the Cabinet Secretary that he was putting him “formally on notice” of the Conservative plan to drop the project, and also warned the companies involved. Ministers have suggested that the scheme, whose introduction begins this year, will cost £5.4 billion over ten years and are signing contracts with companies supplying the technology.

( http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article1336924.ece - 9th item)