An article in the Register discusses the introduction of disposable “credit cards” in Ireland.
Rather than having a regular credit card linked to your name, you buy one of the cards which comes pre-loaded with a specified amount of money. When the credit runs out, simply get a new card.
Those who fear identity theft are [...]

The UK Government’s Assistant Privacy Commissioner, Jonathon Bamford, has been on tour in Australia, and recently addressed a seminar on corporate privacy. According to the Australian Daily Telegraph, he spoke about the ineffectiveness of ID cards as an anti-terrorist measure:
“I think it’s debatable how far an identity card system really does prevent terrorism,” Mr Bamford [...]

The Telegraph reports that the Home Office is already inviting companies to consider bidding for ID card contracts:
An advertisement in the Official Journal of the European Union on August 9 states: “The Home Office anticipates that once relevant legislation, now before Parliament, has received Royal Assent, it would embark upon procurement exercises for the establishment [...]

Teachers, childcare workers and criminals may be compelled to have identity cards years before they become mandatory for everyone else, according to Yuba Bessaoud and Andrew Porter writing in the Sunday Times:
At a private briefing in Downing Street for a group of Labour party researchers, Andy Burnham, a Home Office minister, said the government was [...]

The British Computer Society, the Chartered Engineering Institution for UK IT professionals, has once again voiced its concerns about the government’s proposed ID cards scheme. BCS e-bulletin, which is emailed fortnightly to BCS members, quotes external relations director Mike Rodd:

Our primary concerns focus on the lack of objectives. There does not appear to be any [...]