[no2id-supporters] NO2ID NEWSLETTER No.18

Fri Apr 1 07:55:29 BST 2005

NO2ID NEWSLETTER - Supporter's Newsletter No.18 - 31st March 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.)

++ NO2ID ELECTION PLANS

+ CELEBRATION for the Fall of the Identity Cards Bill

It is thought overwhelmingly likely that the Prime Minister will ask for
parliament to be dissolved next week for an election on May 5th.  If
that happens we will know that the Identity Cards Bill is dead (this
time around) by Thursday, which is the last plausible day of
parliamentary business, and even though we are sure we will have to
fight the battle again in the next parliament we are planning a
celebratory evening in a Westminster pub on the evening of Thursday 7th
April. All supporters are invited--though we will be shocked if all
10,000 turn up.  We also aim to use the occasion to thank our friends
from the press, affiliated organisations and from both Houses of
Parliament, and to show those of our opponents from the Home Office who
can be persuaded to turn up that we bear them no personal ill-will.

Details in an email to follow Mr Blair's decision.  Look out for it.

+ OVER TO YOU - Taking the ID Issue to the Country

While the Bill has been in Parliament, the focus of the NO2ID Campaign 
has been to raise critical voices there.  Once it falls the key task is 
to inform people at large that this is an important question and it 
hasn't gone away.

That's the real point of the campaign. Parliament--as this Government
has consistently demonstrated--is a sideshow.

We have to lobby and inform parliamentarians to maintain the backbone of
the opposition--and we have a team of people personally in touch with
peers and MPs for this purpose--but the war will be won in the country.
  We have to reach and mobilise those people who are disposed to be
against ID cards and reduce the genuine (if mistaken) popularity of the 
scheme. We will win in Parliament if there is significant resistence 
among the population as a whole, and, consequently, the scheme begins to 
be seen by the parties as impracticable and potentially unpopular.

This means we should take advantage of the election period to build up 
local group activity.  We cannot and will not make this a directly party 
political issue--both the major parties are divided, and we do not 
support or endorse particular candidates.  (Literature produced during 
the campaign should avoin mentioning parties and refer to ID as 
"government" or "Home Office" plans.)  But in every city and region in 
Britain we can still expect to raise the matter of ID cards as a 
question for candidates.

That's where you come in.  Remember it is not just a parliamentary 
election but in many parts of the country a local one too.  We have a 
platform for reaching hundreds of thousands (perhaps millions) of 
people, who have never heard of NO2ID or our arguments before, through 
local media.

Writing to PPCs, candidates, and councillors, in your immediate area, is 
useful.  All those people need to listen to electors at the moment and 
have more time to do so. They will be sensitive at least to the vast 
cost of re-enginering local systems to conform to Whitehall. And, when 
they agree with you, they have a vested interest in spreading the word 
among their supporters, which is not generally true of sitting MPs, who 
are held closely responsible to party machines.

Get in touch with us to find out about how to use local hustings to 
spread the word. (hustings at no2id.net)

The Bill will be back.  Home Office preparations for ID cards have not 
slackened.  If we use the election as an opportunity to grow the 
organisation, we will be better able to face the battle in the next 
parliament and beyond.  We now have around 10,000 registered supporters 
and 60 local groups.  It wouldn't be unrealistic to double those numbers 
by the time the new MPs are finding their offices.  But it needs us ALL 
to take the campaign across the country.

++ LORDS ALERT TO IDENTITY CARDS BILL DANGERS

The Identity Cards Bill had its Second Reading in the House of Lords on
Monday March 21st. No date has yet been set for the Committee Stage. If
a general election is called for May 5th it will run out of time.

Meanwhile peers showed themselves already well-informed and unwilling to
take the government position at face value. In a debate lasting four
hours peers referred to NO2ID's Lords briefing and the report published
by the London School of Economics on the morning of the debate.

The Earl of Northesk said: "The Bill is far less about the introduction
of identity cards ... than about the establishment of a centralised and
over-arching database containing extensive details about every
individual in the land."

The Earl of Erroll said: "An ID card is basically an internal passport.
It gives the authorities huge power to control our future movements and
other things. It will irretrievably alter the balance between the
citizen and the state. Millions have died defending our freedoms. Just
because we are frightened of some terrorist attacks, we should not throw
away those freedoms lightly."

The issue of ministers using International Civil Aviation Organisation
(ICAO) passport standards as a justification for the introduction of ID
cards was raised by the Countess of Mar who said: "The Government have
... gold-plated the base requirement of the ICAO by adding biometric
identifiers to the list of identifying information in the Bill.
Certainly there is no obligation on the UK to use fingerprint or iris
biometrics. This is a form of function creep."

NO2ID got several mentions in the debate. Responding to a strange
assertion by Baroness Gibson of Market Rasen that we are a sinister
organisation, Lord Stoddart of Swindon said: "My Lords, I first of all
declare an interest as a paid-up member of NO2ID. That organisation,
together with Liberty, gives out information about ID cards and the
dangers to individual liberty that might be associated with the Bill,"
adding, "I am a member of it, and I am glad to be a member of it".

Baroness Falkner of Margravine, a member of the Joint Committee on Human
Rights, said: "Lord Young of Norwood Green ...  queried why the 21
countries in the EU that have ID cards were not taken to the European
Court of Human Rights. The answer is simple: they do not have this Bill.
This is an authoritarian Bill which is nothing like many of the schemes
that operate in other EU countries."

The bill was read a second time, and committed to a Committee of the
Whole House.

Hansard Transcript:
www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld199900/ldhansrd/pdvn/lds05/text/50321-13.htm
Watch the debate (available until 4th April):
http://www.parliamentlive.tv/Console.aspx?Encoding=2960 (starts at 02:40:48)

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++ What Just Happened?
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+ MORE NO2ID LOCAL GROUPS -- MORE NEEDED

We now have local groups in (amongst other places): Edinburgh, Glasgow,
Barrow In Furness, Carlisle, Hull, Lancaster, Sheffield, Manchester,
Newcastle, York, Aberystwyth, Cardiff, Rhyl, Birmingham, Chester,
Corsham, Hereford, Cambridge, Peterborough, several London boroughs,
Newton Abbot, Brighton & Hove, Bristol, Guildford, Horsham, Luton,
Milton Keynes, Tonbridge, Woking and Worthing.

If you'd like to start your own and become a local contact for your
town, you should be a member and be prepared to be contacted by
supporters and local journalists.  It may sound daunting, but it is 
surprisingly easy and fun.  See the campaigner's guide on the website
http://www.no2id.net/downloads/index.php
for an explanation of what's involved.

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

+ THREE MORE COUNCILS OPPOSE ID CARDS

Watford, Lancaster City and Ceredigion County Councils have all passed
motions against the introduction of National Identity Cards. Lancaster
City's motion, proposed by Liberal Democrat councillor Stuart Langhorn,
was passed on March 16th. Watford's motion, proposed by Green Party
councillors Steve Rackett and Ken Brodhurst, passed on March 22nd and
Ceredigion became the first council in Wales to oppose ID cards when it
passed a motion this Wednesday (March 30th).

NO2ID Aberystwyth spokesperson, Rachael Owen said: "We are delighted
that Councillors almost unanimously recognised the social injustice that
will be caused by government plans for compulsory Identity Cards.  Using
unproven technology the government will require everyone to surrender
personal information to a database, accessible by many private and
public services."

Watford and Ceredigion also affiliated to NO2ID. Similar motions have
also been passed by Cambridge, Norwich, York, Oxford, Liverpool and
Sefton Metropolitan councils.

Talk to your councillors about doing the same.  If you *are* a
councillor and would like to propose something, we have the texts of all
the motions available.

+ LSE REPORT DAMNS ID CARDS BILL

Senior academics at the London School of Economics published a damning
assessment of the Identity Cards Bill on the day of the bill's 2nd
Reading in the House of Lords (Monday March 21).

The report concludes that Home Office plans are "too complex,
technically unsafe, overly prescriptive and lack a foundation of public
trust and confidence".  NO2ID is dissapointed though, that the authors
cautiously suggest that "the concept of a national identity system is
supportable".  The bureaucratic ambition of a government controlled
identity system is to us the critical core of the problem.

The report is critical of the details of the Bill, noting the wide
powers of the Home Secretary to raise penalties or compel arbitrary
groups to register; the lack of accountability, such as the proposed
Commissioner reporting to the Home Secretary and not Parliament; and the
apparent breaches of the Human Rights Act, Data Protection Act,
Disability Discrimination Act and Race Relations Act, among others.

LSE Interim Report:
http://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/pressAndInformationOffice/PDF/IDreport.pdf

+ THE DATABASE STATE - NHS RECORDS OPT OUT IN DOUBT

Doctors are worried that patient will not be able to opt out of the
National Care Records System (NCRS), the database of medical records
that is part of the NHS Programme for IT.

The government originally said that patients would be able to opt out of
the system but Radio 4's Today programme, March 30th, reported that an
Email from senior civil servant to a GP said that "patients do not have
any right to determine what is recorded nor to veto the media on which
it is recorded".

Listen to the report at:
www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/today/listenagain/wednesday.shtml
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++ What's Next?
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+ 3 APRIL - SOUTHWARK NO2ID PUBLIC MEETING

Southwark NO2ID will be holding a public meeting against ID cards and
the National Identity Register
Sunday, 3rd April 2005, 2pm at Bankside House, directly behind Tate Modern
Speakers include:
  Simon Hughes, MP, Liberal Democrat Party
  Steven Montgomery, Liberty
For further details email southwark at no2id.net or call 0795 123 7015

+ Coming soon - COMEDY EVENT

Well-known stand-up and NO2ID volunteer Ben Norris is rallying his
friends on the London comedy circuit, and we hope to arrange one or more
benefit events shortly.

+ Coming soon - THE GENERAL ELECTION - Call For Volunteers

We intend to make Identity Control an election issue, even if the main
parties would prefer the public to lose interest.  Would you be willing
to canvas locally, or come on day trips like the one we recently made to
Norwich (but warmer, we promise)?  Could you give a bit of time to
phoning voters in crucial wards?  Are you a member of an organisation
that could hold a hustings in the constituency, and put identity on the
agenda?

If so--or if you have a better idea--contact the office on
volunteer at no2id.net and let us know.

+ CALLING ALL DESIGNERS

Local group events, and more general advertising of NO2ID, need visual
material to attract public attention, and to communicate the abstract
dangers of the database state.  We need great design ideas (and great
executions) for posters, pamphlets, ads and leaflets that can be spread
around the country.  We'd like the designers and communicators among our
supporters to put their heads together.  If you have communications
skills, get in touch, and we will give you an outline brief and put you
together with some like minds.
(volunteer at no2id.net)

+ 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, there is a downloadable petition form on
the web site.
www.no2id.net/downloads/forms/NO2ID%20Petition.pdf

Post filled in forms to the office so that we can keep in touch with
everyone who declares themselves opposed to ID cards.

Alternatively, please continue to encourage people to sign the
e-petition at www.no2id-petition.net which is exactly the same wording

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++ "ID" IN THE NEWS
---------------------

+ UK Passport costs to double - Privacy International
The Home Office have declared that new passports may be issued from the
end of this year. These 'ePassports' will include a scanned image of the
face of the individual on a chip, but not fingerprints, yet.
http://www.privacyinternational.org/article.shtml?cmd[347]=x-347-168059

+ NHS Chief Cans Patient Control - The Register
Government claims that patients may opt out of the new National Health
Service care records service (NHS CRS) have been contradicted by the
Department of Health's head of digital information policy
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/03/30/nhscrs_optout_canned/

+ ID Plans Tarnish UK's Reputation for Freedom - Scotsman (letters)
The ID cards scheme is the most ambitious and expensive public sector IT
project ever undertaken. It has all the hallmarks of a disaster waiting
to happen.
http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/letters.cfm?id=324302005

+ Select Committee criticises ID Cards Bill - The Register
Government plans for a national identity cards scheme will change the
fundamental relationship between the State and the individual, according
to a report published last week by the House of Lords Select Committee
on the Constitution.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/03/30/house_of_lords_slams_id_cards_bill/

+ ID Cards/Passport Integration Plan Progresses - Computing
Passport Service to work with Home Office on creating new management
body... despite the fact there's no parliamentary approval yet.
http://www.computing.co.uk/news/1162224

+ Irish Government Views - Irish World
Documents detailing consultations between the British and Irish
Governments on the Identity Cards Bill have been released under the
Freedom of Information Act.
http://www.theirishworld.com/homepage.asp?fname=2005-04-01\news\3.htm

+ Peers reject 'rushed' bill on identity cards - The Guardian
Tory and Liberal Democrat peers underlined their refusal to allow the
identity cards bill through parliament
http://politics.guardian.co.uk/lords/story/0,9061,1443058,00.html

+ Blunkett to head ID card campaign - Epolitix
David Blunkett has said he will lead Labour's election fight on ID cards.
http://www.epolitix.com/EN/News/200503/22857ed5-aa61-4926-90c3-9ce9a31da219.htm

+ Government urged to axe ID card plan - The Scotsman
A group of academics has urged ministers to abandon their planned
national identity card scheme.
http://news.scotsman.com/politics.cfm?id=304672005

+ Election call will scupper ID card and Gaming Bills - The Times
Tony Blair faces losing most of the Bills now before Parliament if he
calls a general election in early May because of tough tactics agreed by
the Conservatives.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1534968,00.html

(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.

If you are nervous of making the case, send for a copy of our guide to
the arguments: "How to WIN the fight against Identity Cards and the
National Identity Register"

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.  During a
general election MPs cease to be MPs, but all significant candidates are
worth questioning.

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/

10. Join. Membership starts at 15 pounds 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:

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)
Technical Manager - Owen Blacker (technical.manager at no2id.net)
Office Staff - office 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)

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 one relevant person at a time. 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