Another Leaked Document Reveals ID Risks

FRESH evidence that Tony Blair’s flagship identity cards scheme is in crisis is disclosed in a confidential Home Office report which has been leaked to The Sunday Times.

The 32-page “restricted” document says that the security system protecting the card and the national database could be infiltrated by criminal gangs involved in identity theft and highlights shrinking public support for the scheme. It also says British firms have no current manufacturing capacity to produce the card.

The report, entitled Market Soundings, flatly contradicts recent public reassurances to MPs by Joan Ryan, the minister responsible for ID cards, that the scheme is not facing any problems...

... It cites one manufacturer saying: “In New Zealand the lifetime of the card and chip was reduced from 10 to five years, since holding information for 10 years on a card could be dangerous as criminal activities may be able to defeat chip security within these time scales.”

Ryan’s claim to MPs that the document revealed “widespread public support for the scheme” is also contradicted. Summarising the “main risks” given by the 15 surveyed firms as to why they might not bid to develop the cards and national identity database, the report says: “Recent indications show that the British public’s appetite for the ID card is declining. Association with the resulting programme may compromise a company’s public image...

... One of the most damning remarks in the new report is the disclosure by some manufacturers that they are in no position to make ID cards. They also said it might not be possible to produce enough iris cameras that will match the user’s “eyeprint” to their digital record on the national database.

The companies asked by the Home Office to give their confidential views on the project included BT, IBM, Motorola, Royal Mail and Siemens. They were also asked if they intended to bid for contracts to develop the system”