[no2id-supporters] NO2ID Newsletter No.14

Fri Feb 4 08:33:56 GMT 2005

NO2ID NEWSLETTER - Supporter's Newsletter No.14 - 4th February 2005
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+++ Stop ID-cards and the database state

This is the latest email newsletter to keep you informed about the 
campaign against the Home Office's plans to fingerprint and track the 
entire population of Britain for its National Identity Register. As soon 
as practicable the NO2ID Newsletter will also be produced in printed 
form to let us reach people without email. Meanwhile, if you want to 
forward this email to friends or print and distribute hard copies, then 
we have no objections.

You've been sent this (if you are a first hand recipient) because we 
believe you registered as a supporter of the campaign. If not, or if you 
just don't want the newsletter, let us know and please accept our 
apologies. We don't want to spam anyone.

(Equally, if you were a supporter in the past, but have now decided that 
you do want yourself and your family to be tagged like cattle at huge 
and unnecessary expense, please do let us know.)
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++ POSITIVE NEWS

The last two weeks there has been some good news for opponents of ID 
cards. Several local councils have voted not to support the ID card 
scheme should it be implemented. There have also been a couple of 
reports against the bill: one from a Conservative think tank and the 
other from a parliamentary committee on human rights.

+ JOINT COMMITTEE SLAMS ID CARDS BILL ON HUMAN RIGHTS GROUNDS

This week, a joint Parliamentary committee has slammed the Identity 
Cards Bill because of threats to privacy and human rights. A report by 
the Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR) contains a letter it has sent 
to the Home Secretary Charles Clarke asking for clarification on 14 
separate areas of concern.

One of the committee's worries is the amount of information that will be 
stored on the central database, the National Identity Register. The 
report says: "The information which may be held on the Register [...] 
allows for significant intrusion into private life."  The committee
however did not mention the privacy busting unique National Identity 
Register Number, which will facilitate data untold data-sharing in both 
the public and private sectors. The report is seen by many as the 
blueprint for any future legal challenges to the legislation. The 
committee has requested a response to its questions by Monday 7th, February.

See 
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/jt200405/jtselect/jtrights/35/3504.htm
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++ What Just Happened?
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+ ID BILL COMMITTE STAGE ENDS

The Identity Cards Bill has completed the Committee Stage in the House 
of Commons. As expected the bill passed through with NO notable 
amendments. So much for scrutiny. The 3rd Reading in the Commons will be 
next Thursday (10th February). MPs will get just three and a half hours 
at most to debate this controversial piece of legislation. The bill will 
then move to the House of Lords where our best hopes lie of stopping it, 
particularly since the JCHR report has called into question its 
compatibility with the Human Rights Act.

See http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/cmident.htm

+ ID Bill 3rd Reading - Lobby Your MP

The Identity Cards Bill will get its Third Reading in the House of 
Commons next week. We urgently call on all supporters to contact their 
MPs, Councillors, AMs and MSPs to make them aware of your concerns and 
to point out that ID cards are not a popular measure, despite what a 
number of them believe. If you get a response then please pass on 
details of their position to our Parliamentary Liaison, Rachael Marsh 
(parliamentary.liaison at no2id.net).

List of MSPs - http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/msp/index.htm
List of AMs - http://www.wales.gov.uk/who/constit_e.htm
Fax Westminster MPs - http://www.faxyourmp.com/

+ LOCAL COUNCILS VOTE AGAINST ID CARDS

Councils around the country have sent a warning shot to Charles Clarke, 
the Home Secretary, over his plans to introduce ID cards. So far 
Norwich, York, Oxford, Liverpool and Brighton have all expressed strong 
concerns about the proposed scheme and their unwillingness to implement 
ID card checks for access to public services. York City and Norwich City 
   councils have also affiliated to NO2ID.  Norwich includes the Home 
Secretary's constituency.  A similar motion in the London Borough of 
Southwark was defeated by only one vote.  More councils are expected to 
follow suit.

+ ID BILL - LOBBYING LORDS

NO2ID has been lobbying MPs as the Identity Cards Bill passes through 
parliament and as it wends its way towards the House of Lords we have 
begun lobbying Peers as well. It is expected that the Lords will be far 
more receptive and less likely to grant the Bill an easy passage.

+ NO2ID FANTASY MP

A NO2ID 'Dream MP' has been set up on the Public Whip website. Dream MPs 
are fictional MPs that can be added to the site, together with their 
dream votes (voting as we would like them to). This allows real MPs to 
be compared to the Dream MP, so that they can be given an agreement score.

See http://www.publicwhip.org.uk/dreammp.php?id=230

+ LOCAL GROUPS ACCROSS THE COUNTRY

We now NO2ID groups all around the country. Local groups are an 
essential part of our campaign. Many groups are planning meetings, and 
Brixton, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Oxford are planning stalls in the near 
future. Please get in touch with them if you can help out locally.  If 
you'd like to join them as a local contact for your town, you should be 
a member and be prepared to be contacted by supporters and local 
journalists.

Latest groups:  Bradford, Burnley, and Corsham (Wilts).

For a list of local groups and contacts see http://www.no2id.net/localGroups

+ E-Petition Still Open

The petition continues to help us reach more supporters and let more 
people express their views on ID cards. If you would like to collect 
paper signatures in your area, please let Guy 
Taylor(local.groups at no2id.net) know.  A downloadable version of the 
petition form is at
http://www.no2id.net/downloads/index.php

Please continue to encourage people to sign the petition at 
www.no2id-petition.net.

+ REPLACING A DAMAGED PASSPORT - A VISION OF ID CARD ENROLMENT ?

A NO2ID member recently had to replace a passport that had been involved 
in a washing machine incident. What he got was a glimpse of the sort of 
the sort of nightmares that enrolling for an ID card could entail.

The Passport Office's computer system first said he had another 
passport. Which he didn't. A system error apparently.

Then the system said a passport that had lost four years ago had not 
been cancelled. So they asked for a form LS01 to be completed - to keep 
the system happy. Form LS01 was introduced at the end of 2003 - but 
apparently the system still needed one, even though sections of it were 
not relevant and had to be left blank. Eventually after much to-ing and
fro-ing a passport was issued but several weeks after the target date.

On the plus side at least he won't have to submit to biometric enrolment 
for the life of this passport, and should an ID card be introduced he'll 
get an opportunity to campaign against it while still being able to go 
abroad.

+ A FULL HOUSE AT CAMBRIDGE NO2ID MEETING

Around 160 people packed into Fisher Hall for the Cambridge NO2ID 
meeting on Tuesday 25th January. Speakers included Peter Lilley MP, 
prospective Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate David Howarth and a 
former leader of Cambridge City Council.

Peter Lilley told the meeting that, though many departments say ID cards 
will be useful, no government department is willing to give up any of
its budget to fund them.

+ ID CARDS IN SCOTLAND

Under current plans compulsory ID cards will also be imposed in 
Scotland, says Trevor Mendham, the co-ordinator of No2ID Scotland, in a 
letter to Private Eye this week. The Scottish Executive will be able to 
decide if the cards will be used to restrict access to devolved 
ervices. Information about activities north of the border can be found 
at www.no2id-scotland.net

+ TORY GROUP PRODUCES DAMNING REPORT

Conservative think-tank, the Bow Group, has released a report that 
highlights some of the dangers of the government's proposed ID card 
scheme. The report - 'Identity Crisis' - was written by Peter Lilley, MP 
for Hitchin and Harpenden. Chris Philip, Chairman of the Bow Group, 
said: "Whatever you think of the principle of ID cards, this report 
demonstrates that the Government's current proposals do not deliver 
sufficient benefits to outweigh the phenomenal difficulties of 
enforcement, cost and bureaucracy, to say nothing of civil liberties."

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++ What's Next?
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+ NO2ID Campaign Office - Support our work

Office work in our new Lambeth offices is starting to produce results. 
Last week we were able to mail all MPs who failed to vote against the 
second reading pointing out the electoral drawbacks of allowing what 
promises to be a vastly unpopular bureaucracy.  We are also starting to 
use it as a depot to supply local groups with badly needed materials. 
But all that post and stationery costs money.

The rent in the short-term is kindly underwritten by the Joseph Rowntree 
Reform Trust Ltd, but to make the office work for us means meeting the
running costs of lobbying. Please support us with a donation.

You can get a membership/standing order donation form at 
www.no2id.net/content/join.html.
To donate by PayPal or bank transfer, see www.no2id.net/content/donate.html.

+ 12th Feb 2005 - LOCAL GROUPS TRAINING DAY

NO2ID is holding a free training day for local group activists in 
central London on the 12th February. In order to give local groups the 
best chance of reaching out to their population, we will be offering 
training on dealing with the press and media, organising public meetings 
and other ways of raising the campaign profile, making and keeping 
contact with MPs and councillors, and a discussion of the main themes of 
the NO2ID campaign and how to relate them.

Tickets are strictly limited--initially one per group, to allow us to 
share information as widely as possible--and replies must be received no 
later than midday February 7th. If you would like to book a place, email 
training at no2id.net, or use our online form.

12th February, 9.00 - 17.00
At the LSE, Houghton Street, London WC2A 2AE
St Clements Building, Room S50

Just off the Aldwych, nearest tube Holborn or Temple. 68 bus from 
Euston/Kings Cross.

+ 21st February - 53rd Anniversary of the abolition of identity cards in 
the UK

On 21st February 1952, as part of Churchill's "bonfire of controls", the 
government abolished the national identity cards with much support from 
the population. Only fifty years later we see that the lessons of the 
past have been forgotten by a government apparently obsessed with 
modernisation.

On this 53rd anniversary of the abolition of identity cards in the UK we 
should try to recall why our parents and grandparents breathed a sigh of 
relief at the lifting of a burden the government would return to our 
shoulders.

See http://www.no2id.net/news/events.php#11

+ Coming Soon
Taking the battle to the enemy. We will shortly be visiting the 
constituencies of prominent parliamentary supporters of ID cards to let 
the people their know what their representatives have planned for them 
and their families.

+ Coming soon - Fundraising Event in London
Find out what an extraordinarily diverse range of ideas NO2ID people 
have. And raise funds for the battle ahead. Details will depend on how 
much interest there is. Contact our events manager, Cassandra Rae
(events at no2id.net) if you would like to know more.

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++ "ID" In the News
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"ID cards may breach human rights, say MPs"
The Identity Cards Bill raises serious questions about human rights 
according to a report by the Joint Committee on Human Rights
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,1404347,00.html

"EU driving licence plus 'info network' goes on roadmap"
The European Parliamentary seems likely to give the go ahead to 
Commission proposals for a single European driving licence format this month
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/02/01/eu_licence_card/

"Blair Defends Id Cards Case"
Report of Tony Blair defending his u-turn on ID cards at Prime 
Minister's Question Time.  As shadow home secretary he opposed them.
http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=4050282

"Biometric Screening: Easy or Dangerous?"
A look at biometric screening at airports, and the dangers of letting 
certain 'trusted' passengers through less rigorous security checks using 
biometric fast-tracking.
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/40026.html

"US Administration could include - and request - fingerprints in passports"
Outgoing US Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge recently declared 
that the US should consider introducing fingerprints in its future 
electronic passport and ask other countries to do the same.
http://europa.eu.int/idabc/en/document/3827/355

"Britain 'sliding into police state'"
The home secretary is transforming Britain into a police state, 
according to former leading anti-terrorist police chief George 
Churchill-Coleman.
http://politics.guardian.co.uk/homeaffairs/story/0,,1400585,00.html

"Cost of ID card scheme could double, says report"
A report 'Identity Crisis: the case against ID cards' has been produced 
by the Bow group.
http://www.out-law.com/php/page.php?page_id=costofidcardsche1107170590&area=news

"Tory group report attacks ID scheme as a con trick"
The Bow Group Tory think tank has published a critique of the ID scheme 
by former Minister Peter Lilley MP
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/02/03/peter_lilley_id_report/

(Please send me any items of interest you encounter - Editor)
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++ What You Can Do
-------------------

Like any campaign we need funds and people. Any help or expertise of any
kind you can spare will be most welcome. Most important is to get other
people involved and to understand the issues. ID-CARDS sound innocent:
what the government wants is ID-CONTROL. When people know that they (and
their children) may be fingerprinted like criminals and will be made to
register every change of address with the authorities, their attitude
changes. So:-

1. Tell your friends about the campaign and that you are supporting it.
Most people are scarcely aware of the government's ID database project,
and few understand the dangers. Feel free to redistribute this
newsletter to acquaintances. (But please do introduce it personally and
don't spam.) Your personal witness will help others understand that this
is important.

2. Sign the Petition and get your friends and (adult) family to do so.
http://www.no2id-petition.net/

3. Let us know if you have time or special expertise that you can give
to the organisation or facilities you can lend us. The campaign is
getting bigger, but needs to grow some more. Fast. We urgently need any
assistance you can offer. We can use any amount of professional creative
and marketing expertise as we begin to lift public awareness of the
issues, but it would be handy to have reliable people to answer the
phone.  Volunteer at: volunteer at no2id.net

4. Get together with others in your area to form a local group. A
national campaign needs a national network. Experienced campaigner Guy
Taylor (local.groups at no2id.net) is available to help local groups build
our nationwide presence. Guy can tell you how to hold a public meeting,
set out your stall locally (literally as well as metaphorically), and
how to get other people involved. If you have experience of local
campaigns then by all means just start -- we will offer what help we
can. Details of forthcoming meetings, when we have them, are posted on
the website.

5. Raise the issue for discussion in any organisations you belong to.
Everyone is affected in some way.  Encourage any club, union or other
group you are in that opposes ID control to become a supporter or
affiliate itself.

6. Write to the local and national press, to express your concerns
whenever there is relevant news. Phone-in to appropriate radio and TV
programs. There is plenty of information on (and linked to) the website
to help you do this.

7. Write to your MP and MEP expressing your disquiet and ask for *their
personal* opinion on specific issues. (Big-party MPs in particular
sometimes avoid controversial matter, or may offer a standard statement
of general party policy rather than answering for themselves.)
FaxYourMP.com is a free and confidential way to get an answer.

8.  Contact your Councillor and ask questions about the costs for the
council, and the effect on council services and the police precept.

9. Buy a T-shirt, and wear it. This publicises the message--people will
ask you what it means--and raises funds. Details on the NO2ID website.
Or buy online at:
http://www.ntkmart.co.uk/ntkmart.cgi#No2ID
or
http://www.cashncarrion.co.uk/cnb/shop/cashncarrion?listPos=&op=catalogue-products-null&prodCategory
ID=28

10. Join. Membership starts at GBP15 a year (higher contributions
encouraged, and a modest standing order means a lot to us). It entitles
you to a say in the running of NO2ID. There is a membership form on the
website at www.no2id.net/content/join.html

11. Give generously. A few weeks back we had no money. Now we have a
little money, but we will always need more. The Home Office is planning
to spend billions.  But we will spend your money better.
Funds can be transferred to our HSBC Treasurer Account in the name of NO2ID
A/c no: 91339427
Sort Code 40-28-15
You can send a cheque, payable to "NO2ID" to: NO2ID, Box 412, 78
Marylebone High Street, LONDON W1U 5AP.
Special donation or sponsorship enquiries should be made to Guy Herbert
(general.secretary at no2id.net). Help in kind is equally welcome.

12. Link to us. Help us gather support on through the web by displaying
a button or banner (available on the website) on your own home site or
blog and linking to us.
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++ NO2ID Who's Who and Resources
-----------------------------
First port of call should be the website:
http://www.no2id.net/

IF you can't find what you need on the website...
General enquiries to: enquiries at no2id.net
Press enquiries only to: press at no2id.net

+ If you have specific assistance or information to offer, you can
contact the following NO2ID people:

Chair of the Advisory Board - Simon Davies (chair at no2id.net)

Volunteer Staff:-

National Coordinator - Phil Booth (national.coordinator at no2id.net)

Administration
General Secretary - Guy Herbert (general.secretary at no2id.net)
Newsletter Editor - Charles Farrier (newsletter at no2id.net)
Production Manager - Katherine Davies  (production.manager at no2id.net)
Technical Manager - Owen Blacker (technical.manager at no2id.net)

Communications
Head of Campaigns - Andy Robson (campaigns at no2id.net)
Press Officer - Michael Parker (press.officer at no2id.net)
Public Affairs - Dave Walker (public.affairs at no2id.net)
Parliamentary Liaison - Rachael Marsh (parliamentary.liaison at no2id.net)
Events Manager  Cassandra Rae (events at no2id.net)

Development
National Secretary - Adam McGreggor (national.secretary at no2id.net)
Local Group Coordinator - Guy Taylor (local.groups at no2id.net)

Research
Head of Research - Ian Brown (research at no2id.net)

Regional Coordinators
London - Andrew Weston (london at no2id.net)
Scotland - Trevor Mendham (scotland at no2id.net)

+ Please, please remember that everybody on this list is a volunteer,
and all will be getting a huge amount of email, so you should only
direct enquiries to the relevant person. We are grateful for all offers
of help, but can't guarantee to have time to give detailed answers to
individual general queries on the ID scheme.  There is a lot of
information on the website and there will soon be much, much more.

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Publication details:  (c) NO2ID 2005 - This document may be freely
redistributed in one-to-one communications or physical copies as long as
it is reproduced in its entirety including this notice. It may not be
mass-mailed without the prior permission of NO2ID.

NO2ID, Box No.412, 78 Marylebone High Street, LONDON W1U 5AP