10,000 sign up to ID cards website

• Simon Evans 17 Oct 09

  When the Tories scrap ID cards, will they refund the 10,000 misguided owners their £30 application fee?

• Radical Meldrew 18 Oct 09

  So that's 10,000 people out of a possible 60,000,000 who have shown an interest in the UK National ID card idea. Hardly an overwhelming show of public support, is it?

  If the Tories form the next Government, the ID card scheme will of course be scrapped and the cards themselves will become worthless momentos of the New Labour era.

  £30 seems a lot of money to pay for a novelty ID card. Perhaps these 10,000 new-age zealots could wait another eight months or so and see who wins the next General Election before investing any of their hard-earned cash?

• Dave Page 18 Oct 09

  People have not registered their interest in signing up for an ID card. They've registered their interest in the scheme.

  I'm the co-ordinator of Manchester's NO2ID Group, and I've signed up. There's no definite intent to acquire an ID card behind a sign-up.

  It's interesting that your article provides no contrasting opinion to the Government's proposals, say from the other UK political parties who have pledged to scrap the National Identity Scheme and database.

  Your article does not mention that, from 2012, passport applications and renewals will compel people onto the ID database whether or not they choose to carry an ID card.

  Neither does it mention the dozens of Government agencies who will have unrestricted access to your ID record without your consent (many of whom can pass it on to other organisations without an audit trail).

• Vespasian 19 Oct 09

  I'm at a bit of a loss as to what Dave Page thinks he was doing when he signed up to register his interest in identity cards, if he thinks he didn't register an interest in identity cards. Looking at the website it seems extremely clear to me. It says (all over it) "Register your interest in identity cards and the National Identity Service" in big orange letters. I would suggest Mr Page reads the small print before he signs things in future.

  Don't take my word for it though, go look yourself: http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Governmentcitizensandrights/Identitycards/DG_174257

• Dave Page 29 Nov 09

  Hi Vespatian, I think it's pretty clear what I was saying - I'm interested in the ID card scheme and database behind it because I want to see it stopped.

  Using the number of people who've registered an interest in the scheme to represent the number of people who actually want an identity card is a flawed statistic.

• Peter Forrest 07 Dec 09

  Brian

  Further to the recent news that the UK Border Agency was due to begin fingerprint checks on foreigners at border controls from the end of November, this is a positive step in the battle to improve border security.

  The use of biometrics to verify the identity of an individual entering the country and to ensure the fingerprints match those on the Visa application will support the drive to combat illegal immigration and address global security concerns.

  However, having worked for the past five years with seven countries across the Caribbean on the implementation of biometric systems to improve the quality of border security, it has become very apparent that Governments also need to consider the speed of processing of travellers at the points of entry.

  For the UK, which has already seen a drop in tourist numbers due to the global economic crisis, any additional delay for people entering the country that may deter foreign nationals from travelling could have a further negative economic impact.

  There’s a strong precedent. When the US first introduced biometrics for border control, tourist numbers fell dramatically and only slowly began to recover.

  It is, however, perfectly possible to minimise disruption while still imposing stronger security. In the Caribbean, where tourism is of course a substantial component of GDP, it’s crucial to address both the essential security requirement and the need to expedite processing.

  Countries including Barbados and Grenada have the technological capability to capture an individual’s biometric and passport data and run all the required background security checks, returning relevant responses within a few seconds.

  Visitors to the UK are already experiencing longer queues as a result of the decision to read all passport information. It’s therefore to be hoped that the introduction of this necessary additional biometric security procedure will not add significant delay or deter either the business or leisure traveller.

  Peter Forrest, Managing Director, DPM Systems

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