Consultants who lost data are working on ID cards
Ben Russell writes in The Independent:
The Home Office contractor which lost a computer memory stick containing the details of 84,000 prisoners is at the heart of developing the Government’s controversial compulsory identity cards system.
PA Consulting – which on Tuesday told ministers it had misplaced the unencrypted names, dates of birth and expected release dates of the inmates, as well as the addresses of 33,000 prolific criminals – has won £240m of government contracts since 2004, including one as the Home Office’s “development partner” to “work on the design, feasibility testing, business case and procurement elements of the identity cards programme”.
The Home Office paid the firm a total of £95m between 2004-05 and 2006-07, including £25.4m to work on a national network of fire control centres. The company’s consultants have also been paid more than £33m by the Foreign Office to work on biometric passports and visas.
The Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith, faced angry questions from senior MPs from all the parties, amid accusations that the blunder would further erode public faith in the identity cards project.
