 29th August 2006
Greens opposed to the Government's plans for Identity Cards have joined a national campaign to renew passports now to avoid being forced to register on the national ID scheme database.
Cllr Philip Booth, a Stroud District councillor (pictured above) said: "The Government scheme for our passports and ID cards will mean lifelong surveillance, billions of pounds wasted and untold bureaucracy. Gordon Brown now plans to include surveillance of everyday life by allowing high-street businesses to share confidential information with police databases - this will be the most complex and intrusive compulsory ID control system in the world. The Government potentially will have a complete record of all our movements, from how much and when you withdraw from your bank account to what medications you are taking, down to the level of what sort of bread you eat."
Philip Booth, who was among many Green party members who have just renewed their passports early (i), said: "You can opt out of an ID card if you renew your passport before 1st January 2010. But the card is not the point - even if you chose not to have it, you would still have to pay for it. I renewed my passport three years early as I am appalled by the fact that in future we will have to attend an official interview, producing numerous personal documents to be recorded, and having fingerprints and eye scans taken for the records."
The UK Passport and Identity Service have announced that the price of a basic adult passport will be raised to £66 from 5th October 2006 (ii).
 Cllr Martin Whiteside, who has also renewed his passport and organised a debate in Stroud last year on ID cards (left), added: "The Green party have opposed this ID card plan from the start. We are appalled that David Drew voted for them, but welcome the growing widespread opposition - all the other key political parties are now opposed to the project, a former head of MI5 has branded the cards ‘useless’ and even Whitehall officials have expressed grave concerns (iii)."
The cards are to be introduced voluntarily from 2008 but, if re-elected, Labour proposes to make them compulsory for everyone over 16. Once you are on the Register you will face penalty charges for not telling the Home Office if you move house or if any other of your registered details change. The government is looking at issuing cut-down 'early variant' ID cards that would 'protect' our identity with nothing more than a four-digit PIN.
Martin Whiteside, who is a District councillor and the Green party's Parliamentary spokesperson for Stroud, commented: "This is a gift to fraudsters - and given the Home Offices' atrocious track record, it seems clear that things will go badly wrong. I would urge all to renew your passport in protest at these ridiculous plans." Cheltenham to get new interrogation office
The Passport Service have started building a network of 69 new interrogation offices - including one in Cheltenham - for face-to-face interviews for all first-time passport applicants. When the ID card scheme begins to roll out they will extend interviews to all passport applications, including renewals, for the purpose of fingerprinting applicants and enrolling them onto the National Identity Register.
Philip Booth added: "As Baroness Seccombe put it during and ID card debate in the House of Lords last year: 'How many people know that when their passport runs out they will be summoned to an interrogation centre before being allowed to buy a few cans of beer in Calais?'"
Notes:
(i) Other Green party members across the South West are renewing their passports: 6 so far in Stroud. See more at: http://www.renewforfreedom.org/
(ii) After this date, using the 'fast-track' (one week) service to renew your passport will cost £91, and using the 'premium' (one day) service will cost £108. See factsheet at: http://www.renewforfreedom.org/
Charles Clarke, responding to questions on this on 21st March 2006, said: "... anyone who feels strongly enough about the linkage not to want to be issued with an ID card in the initial phase will be free to surrender their existing passport and apply for a new passport before the designation order takes effect."
(iii) See The Sunday Times 'ID cards doomed, say officials'(July 09, 2006) at:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-2262437,00.html
Greens challenge David Drew on ID cards in various letters to local press. See:
http://www.glosgreenparty.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1097&Itemid=2
Sample of ID cards in the news:
Labour U-turn over ID card medical details - The Sunday Times 23/4/06
Identity cards are to carry medical details, despite repeated government assurances that concerns about privacy meant it would not happen.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-2147744,00.html
Britain's liberties: The great debate - The Observer 23/4/06
I have nothing to hide, but I fear this scheme beyond any of your measures, for it is the dream of every authoritarian government to be able to monitor its citizens around the clock.
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/focus/story/0,,1759344,00.html
ID card scheme slated by IBM researcher - PC Advisor Magazine 19/5/06
Expensive, insecure and ineffective. The government's ID cards scheme has been slated by a researcher at IBM. Michael Osborne attacked the project on the grounds of cost, among a number of other reasons.
http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/news/index.cfm?newsid=6208
Fingerprint Scandal of 700,000 kids - Daily Mirror 3/7/06
Fury erupted yesterday after it emerged an estimated 700,000 children are being fingerprinted at school. Systems in 3,500 primary school libraries allow pupils to take out books by scanning their thumb prints instead of using a card. But campaigners warn the technology is a massive invasion of privacy and a step towards a "database state".
http://tinyurl.co.uk/ecjm
EU proposals to allow the fingerprinting of children at birth
Statewatch last week reported details of EU Council discussions regarding what age the fingerprints of children can be compulsorily taken for EU passports. A report from the EU Council Presidency at the end of June (EU doc no: 9403/1/06) states that: "Scientific tests have confirmed that the papillary ridges on the fingers are not sufficiently developed to allow biometric capture and analysis until the age of six." However the document goes on to propose that fingerprinting and storage of a digital facial image (for use with facial recognition systems) should be compulsory from 12 years of age but below that age it states: "storage is permissible if provided for by national legislation". Tony Bunyan, Statewatch editor, said: "The decisions are being made in secret meetings based on secret documents - people and parliaments are to have no say in the decision." This is once again an example of policy laundering. Decisions are being made by an EU committee composed of representatives of the 25 EU governments. These decisions are then touted by the governments as "international obligations" or the like.
For more details see www.statewatch.org/news/2006/jul/08fingerprinting-children.htm
Poll shows majority against ID cards
An ICM poll commissioned by NO2ID in July shows a majority of people opposed to the introduction of ID cards. NO2ID has commissioned ICM to ask the same question at various points over the last year. The latest poll shows that 47% of the 1002 people asked think the introduction of ID cards would be a good idea, 51% think they would be a bad idea. The same poll in February showed 52% in favour, 45% against and in November last year 50% in favour and 48% against.
The full data set and question asked can be found at http://tinyurl.co.uk/h29w
Government loses 24,000 ID passes - The Scotsman 14/8/06
More than 24,500 government security passes giving access to military sites and sensitive Whitehall offices have gone missing in the past three years.
http://news.scotsman.com/politics.cfm?id=1180692006
Brown to let shops share ID card data - The Observer 6/8/06
Gordon Brown is planning a massive expansion of the ID cards project that would widen surveillance of everyday life by allowing high-street businesses to share confidential information with police databases. Far from intending to dump ID cards once he is in Downing Street, Brown is quietly studying how biometric technology - identifying people by unique markers such as fingerprints and iris patterns - could be expanded over the next 20 years to fight crime.
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/politics/story/0,,1838363,00.html |
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