Impossible to know how many fake ID cards issued, says watchdog
Tom Young writes in Computing:
It is impossible to tell whether identity cards have been obtained fraudulently, according to the first report by the Office of the Identity Commissioner.
Identity Commissioner Sir Joseph Pilling was appointed to oversee the government’s ₤5.4bn National Identity Scheme and issued his first update today.
Although widely supportive of the way the scheme is being introduced by the Identity and Passport Service (IPS), Pilling’s report says: “By definition it will always be impossible to know how many cards have been obtained fraudulently. At this very early stage when the number might well be none, it is not even possible to make an informed guess.”
The BBC reports comments from the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives in response to the report:
Lib Dem home affairs spokesman Mr Huhne said: “Asking Whitehall to safeguard private information is like putting an alcoholic in charge of the distillery.
“Even if officials do not lose personal data as they have done in the past, ID cards are not going to help in the fight against crime, terrorism or illegal working. They should be scrapped immediately.”
Shadow home secretary Chris Grayling said: “Even ministers now admit that the biggest use of ID cards will be to help young people buy a drink in a pub.
“So all of these promises of data protection are completely irrelevant. This is a white elephant scheme that we can’t afford and needs to be scrapped.”
The Commissioner’s report is available here.
