Lost discs are last nail in the coffin of the ID card scheme
The Sunday Herald leader-writer comments on the implications of the HMRC data loss:
Yet when asked if this fiasco effectively ends plans for identity cards, government ministers say no, still holding to a misplaced belief that ID cards will help make Britain safer. This is a contempt-ridden response. All politicians should be judged on their record. On anything to do with data and IT, this government has a woeful record, illustrated by the millions wasted on an NHS computer system that after years of consultancy fees still does less than a doctor with a notepad and a Biro. And the lessons learned here? There have been none. The plans for ID cards, with all the complexity of biometric data they are supposed to contain, are said to be still on course.
The issue of the trust, credibility and competence required to deliver such a project is simply ignored. The reality is that ID cards, however limited, however redesigned, will be a fiasco from day one until the day the project is finally abandoned. How can we forecast this? Listen to the statement made in the Commons last week by Alistair Darling. Imagine a similar speech a few years down the line, when not just 25 million names and bank accounts, but everyone’s details from date of birth to blood type, from address to academic record, are lost as an inadequate system is breached by an amateur hacker or a criminal gang. Last week’s outrage will seem small in comparison. ID cards were killed off last week. The funeral should be organised immediately.
