Blunkett claims ID cards will protect civil liberties

But Mr Blunkett's speech to the Institute of Public Policy Research raises the possibility that the content of the database might be more limited than previously suggested.

He said:

"Critics of the national ID cards scheme who suggest that it would threaten our privacy should be reassured that under the proposed scheme only very basic personal details such as name, address, date and place of birth will be held."

But Dr Chris Pounder of Masons, and Editor of Data Protection and Privacy Practice, said: "The current version of the published ID Card Bill goes far beyond such basic personal details." Dr Pounder explained: "In fact, it lists nearly 50 categories of personal data including previous addresses, passport numbers, national insurance numbers, birth certificates, immigration details and other reference material."

The Home Secretary in his speech also drew a contrast between "the basic information that would be held on individuals, backed by strict privacy safeguards and the far more detailed personal information people volunteer, often without realising it, through supermarket loyalty or credit cards."

However, while 85% of UK households may indeed hold at least one store loyalty card, Dr Pounder highlights two important distinctions: a loyalty card is issued free of charge and is always issued with the consent of the holder.

Additionally, the fair processing requirements of the Data Protection Act means that individuals are fully informed about the purposes of the processing and can always object to the processing. By contrast, "the ID cards will not be free and the Government's objective is to make them compulsory," said Dr Pounder.

Dr Pounder also took issue with Mr Blunkett's comment today that, "Suggestions of Big Brother-style surveillance are ludicrous."

"This misses the point of the critics," said Dr Pounder. He continued:

"The central ID card database has an audit trail that records every time the card is checked. This database will contain - according to the Home Office - the use of hospital outpatient facilities or use of the card as identity for opening a bank account. This audit trail will eventually track every key interaction with public authorities and private bodies for the lifetime of the card holder. Nobody is saying that there is surveillance in the sense that, say, CCTV has the potential to watch the actions of individuals in real time; but clearly the database has the potential for knowing where to find out detailed information on each and every citizen. This problem is real and Mr Blunkett has yet to address it."

Mr Blunkett concluded:

"Liberties will be strengthened, not weakened, through an ID cards scheme which will help everyone protect their own identities and access the public services to which they are entitled."

Dr. Pounder concluded:

"The Government previously deflected criticism from the Home Affairs Select Committee, by separating the narrow purposes of the ID Card scheme - e.g. immigration - from the broad statutory purposes associated with the database - e.g. the disclosure of personal data from the database to authorised persons. What Mr Blunkett addressed today was the ID Card scheme. He has yet to address the privacy problems which arise from the database."

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