[no2id-supporters] NO2ID Newsletter No.71

Thu May 10 18:10:18 BST 2007

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    NO2ID Supporters' Newsletter No. 71 - 10th May 2007

*Contacting us:* Call or email the office - 020-7793-4005 or 
(office at no2id.net). Please do not reply to this email. (The from address 
is not a working email address)

      TIME TO GET PETITIONING

Our local elections ID questionnaire was a great success. Supporters up 
and down the country made sure that the ID scheme was a local issue for 
candidates. Thanks to everybody that took part in the fantastic lobbying 
efforts, for example campaigners in Swindon sent out questionnaires to 
over 90 prospective candidates! Now it's time to get our message out to 
the wider public again. The best way to help us get more supporters is 
by getting people to sign our petition forms. Petition forms can be 
downloaded from the NO2ID website 
(http://www.no2id.net/downloads/forms/NO2IDpetition.pdf).

Please spare some time to collect as many names as you can and send the 
completed forms to NO2ID, Box 412, 19-21 Crawford Street, London W1H 1PJ 
as soon as possible.  Everyone who gives their name and address will get 
a pack with information about the identity card scheme and the campaign. 
If people give their email address then they will be signed up to 
receive our newsletter. One supporter in Bristol recently sent in 55 
petition signatures that she had collected on her own. Engaging with 
people on the street is also a great way to tell people about the 
National Identity Register and the Database State.

If every supporter collected just five signatures we would be able to 
make a huge increase our supporter base. Our campaign needs to grow so 
please help (and don't forget to return the completed petition forms to 
the office).

      What's next?

        Local groups

A new local group has been formed in the London borough of Waltham 
Forest, the group can be contacted via (waltham.forest at no2id.net).  A 
full list of local groups can be found at (www.no2id.net/localGroups)

        Lords Constitution Committee to investigate surveillance society
        - call for evidence

The House of Lords Constitution Committee is calling for evidence into 
the constitutional implications of the surveillance society. The are 
particularly interested in the "constitutional implications of the 
collection and use of surveillance and other personal data by the State 
and (insofar as they can be used by the State) private companies, 
particularly with regard to the impact on the relationship between 
citizen and state". The committee are requesting submissions of up to 
1500 words by 8th June. More details can be found at 
www.parliament.uk/documents/upload/CFE%20Final.doc

        Saturdays 1pm - 3pm - NO2ID Edinburgh Campaign stall

NO2ID Edinburgh's regular Princes Street campaigning stall on Saturdays 
is at the east end of Princes Street, opposite the Balmoral Hotel, from 
1pm - 3pm. We use our stall to raise public awareness of the Identity 
Cards scheme, collect donations and entries for the NO2ID petition, and 
also to increase membership of our group.  Please do pop by for a chat 
if you happen to be around. We aim to have the stall up and running most 
Saturdays, and new volunteers are always very welcome. You can see 
photos of our stall and group contact details at: 
www.no2id-scotland.net/edinburgh/

        12th May - Cambridge NO2ID Campaign stall

Cambridge NO2ID will be running a street stall outside Cambridge 
Guildhall from 10am onwards on Saturday 12th May, Saturday 19th May & 
Saturday 26th May. Location Map: http://tinyurl.com/eo42r. Volunteers to 
help very welcome - contact Andrew Watson via cambridge at no2id.net, or on 
07710 469624.

        14th May - Highbury NO2ID Meeting  (**NEW VENUE**)

Monday, 14th May, 7pm at The Canonbury - What better place to meet on a 
sunny evening than in the Canonbury's lovely beer garden.  We'll be 
having an informal meeting about forthcoming events and ways to 
highlight the campaign in the local area.  All welcome. Address:  
Canonbury Place, N1 2NS 
(http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&tab=wl&q=N1%202NS)

        17th May - Manchester NO2ID Meeting

Thursday 17th May, 7pm - 9pm. Manchester NO2ID will be holding our 
monthly meeting in the upstairs function room of the Town Hall Tavern, 
Tib Lane, Manchester. Sadly, this venue is not wheelchair-accessible, 
please contact us if you have accessibility needs. We will be looking at 
the results of the Manchester local elections, discussing a forthcoming 
film / social night at the FAB café and  other activities.

        19th May - NO2ID stall at Levellers' Day, Burford, Oxfordshire

Saturday, 19th May - Kensington NO2ID is organising a stall at this 
event, which has been a festival of radical politics since 1975. Event 
details from the Levellers Day web page 
(www.levellers.org.uk/levellers-day.htm). Volunteers to help, please 
contact Jill Mannasseh of Kensington NO2ID (kensington at no2id.net)

        24th May - Manchester NO2ID Piccadilly Station Flyering

Thursday 24th May, 5:30pm - 6:30pm at Piccadilly Station. Manchester 
NO2ID will be taking their fortnightly flyering campaign back to 
Piccadilly Station, to raise awareness of the National Identity Register 
among Manchester commuters. This is a great way to spend an hour meeting 
other No2ID supporters, as well as doing something positive for the 
campaign and still being home in time for tea. Meet at the bottom of 
Piccadilly Station Approach and look for the NO2ID T-shirts or badges. 
You won't need to bring anything other than your hands and a smile!

        27th May - Redbridge NO2ID campaign stall at Redbridge Green Fair

Sunday 27th May at Valentines Park, Ilford. Redbridge NO2ID campaign 
will have a stall at this major community event which is held every two 
years. Entry is free. There will be 3 music stages, over 100 stalls, 
great food, a beer tent, children's entertainment. Free shuttlebus 
service. Supported by London Borough or Redbridge (an affiliate of the 
No2ID campaign!)  All support welcome. See www.rgf.org.uk For more 
details phone Paul on 07801 429782.

        29th May - Classical Recital, Covent Garden for benefit of NO2ID

Tuesday, 29th May 7.30pm. A concert: Violin and Piano Duo- Mozart, 
Schumann, De Falla, Gershwin. Seats for roughly 270 people - tickets on 
sale soon. At St. Paul's Church, Bedford Street, London WC2E 9ED ("The 
Actor's Church")

        30th May - World Premiere of Edinburgh NO2ID film

Wednesday, 30th May, 7pm in the Library at the Quaker Meeting House, 7 
Victoria Terrace, Edinburgh EH1 2JL. The film of the local NO2ID Group's 
demonstration outside the Edinburgh Interrogation Centre will be shown 
at the next Group meeting on 30 May. The  main business of the meeting 
will be to consider how the recent political changes, in City Chambers, 
Holyrood and (maybe by then) Downing Street, will affect our campaign 
against compulsory ID cards.

        2nd June - NO2ID Stall at Cambridge Strawberry Fair

Volunteers needed to man the stall for 2 hour shifts from 10am until 
10pm: please contact cambridge at no2id.net, or text/call Andrew Watson on 
07710 469624. We signed up 750 supporters last year - we'd like to 
double that number this year. (Strawberry Fair info: 
http://www.strawberry-fair.org.uk)

        8th June - Cambridge NO2ID Public Meeting: "Whose identity is it
        anyway?"

Friday, 8th June 7.30pm at Parkside Community College, Cambridge CB1 1EH 
(Map: http://www.multimap.com/map/browse.cgi?pc=CB11EH). Platform 
speakers: David Howarth (MP for Cambridge, Lib Dem Energy Spokesperson), 
Ian Gibson (MP for Norwich North, Labour), James Paice (MP for SE Cambs, 
Conservative Agriculture spokesman), Phil Booth (NO2ID National 
Coordinator). All welcome. Free (but donations appreciated).
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      What just happened?

        ID cards cost report published at last - shows £1 billion  increase

The government finally released the latest ID cards six-monthly cost 
report earlier today as the nation's media was focused on the retirement 
of Tony Blair. Initial analysis of the figures reveal that the costs of 
the scheme have risen by nearly a billion pounds. The report was due on 
April 9th but the Home Office it seems chose to wait for a good day to 
bury bad news.
See www.identitycards.gov.uk/downloads/2007-05-10CostReport.pdf

        Chelmsford NO2ID protest at interrogation centre

Members of the newly formed Chelmsford NO2ID group held a protest 
outside the Chelmsford interrogation centre this week. It was well 
attended by supporters from all over Essex and a  number of journalists 
and photographers. Group co-ordinator Felicity Mawson was also invited 
to address the local TUC May Day rally last night.

        Tribunal rules information on ID scheme must be made public

Last week an Information Tribunal ruled that the Office of Government 
Commerce (OGC) Gateway Reviews on the identity cards programme must be 
published. The reviews were requested under the Freedom of Information 
Act by SpyBlog (www.spyblog.org.uk) back in January 2005. The request 
was an attempt to get some of the background information on the Home 
Office's Identity Cards Programme, which should have been made public 
before the Identity Cards Act 2006 was debated in Parliament. In March 
Peter Gershon, the former civil servant, claimed that publication would 
seriously undermine the confidentiality essential to the success of the 
Gateway review scheme. The OGC has been given 28 days to publish the 
reviews.
The decision of the tribunal can be read at http://tinyurl.com/2deaot

        Biometric membership scheme for Leeds nightclub   

A nightclub in Leeds is to introduce a thumbprint membership scheme. 
Rio's Leeds promotional blurb says: "The best bit is you will carry your 
membership round with you on your thumb, as we're using an amazing 
biometrics system that scans your thumbprint so you never have to worry 
about forgetting your card." NO2ID has been campaigning against the 
trend of fingerprinting in pubs for some time (see newsletter 58). 
Fingerprinting in pubs and clubs is part of the normalisation of such 
technologies and raises serious privacy concerns. Supporters in Leeds 
should write to local papers to highlight the issues surrounding the 
scheme. If supporters know of any similar schemes being set up then 
please send details to newsletter at no2id.net

        Information Commissioner gives evidence to Home Affairs Committee

Last week the Information Commissioner gave evidence to the Home Affairs 
Committee as part of their inquiry into 'A surveillance society?'. The 
session mostly focused on store cards and what they perceive as the 
"public's insatiable demand" for CCTV. There was some discussion of data 
sharing and the Child Index.
Watch the session at http://www.parliamentlive.tv/Player/?Meeting=7218
Read the transcript at http://tinyurl.com/2g6vqb
Read the evidence submitted by the information commissioner at 
http://tinyurl.com/2owudn (pdf)

        LSE Identity Project release new reports

The London School of Economics (LSE) Identity Project group have 
released a couple of new reports on their website. The first is their 
evidence to the Home Affairs Committee into "A Surveillance society?". 
The second is an academic paper on 'How the UK is confusing identity 
fraud with other policy agendas'.
Both reports can be found at http://is2.lse.ac.uk/idcard/

        German eDabs won't be archived

The two fingerprints due to be included in German ePassports from this 
November will not be permanently archived. The Christian Democrat 
federal government wanted the prints to be stored and made accessible to 
the police, but it had to withdraw that clause on 10 May after the 
Social Democrats threatened to block the legislation. Police will have 
direct online access to passport photos - but only in an emergency and 
only if the passport office is closed at the time.
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      "ID" in the news

        Cost of ID cards rockets by £840m - The Guardian 10/5/07

The official estimated cost of the controversial national identity card 
scheme has soared in the last six months by an extra £840m to a total of 
£5.75bn, according to new Home Office figures published today
http://politics.guardian.co.uk/homeaffairs/story/0,,2076594,00.html

        Home Office accused of burying bad news as ID cards cost soars -
        Daily Mail 10/5/07

The projected 10-year cost of the controversial ID card scheme has risen 
by £400 million in the last six months, it was revealed today.
http://tinyurl.com/2kg9ol

        DVLA set to lead ID cards scheme - South Wales Evening Post 9/5/07

Swansea's DVLA could be at the forefront of the Government's 
controversial ID cards scheme.The Morriston-based Government agency is 
looking for someone to help create a new system which can deal with up 
to 50 million picture images. The pilot system would be able to search 
for and match images.
http://tinyurl.com/3dywet

        Greens demand boycott of Lockheed Martin census trial - The
        Register 9/5/07

The Green Party has called for a boycott of the UK's 2007 census pilot 
because it is being run by US weapons manufacturer Lockheed Martin. The 
Office for National Statistics is running the test in Liverpool, Camden, 
Bath and North East Somerset, Carmarthenshire and Stoke-on-Trent on the 
13th May 2007.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/05/09/census_boycott/

        NHS upgrade creates false patient records - Computer Weekly 8/5/07

A software upgrade under the NHS's National Programme for IT (NPfIT) has 
led to hundreds of incorrect duplicate patient records being created 
every day at NHS sites in Greater Manchester.
http://tinyurl.com/2kxa7l

        ID card will be needed to vote, says UK election watchdog - The
        Register 30/4/07

Unexpected support for ID cards has come from Electoral Commission 
chairman Sam Younger, who has told the Times that photo ID should be 
required at polling stations, and that if (or, in the view of the 
current Government, when) ID cards become compulsory they would 
"undoubtedly" be applied in elections.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/04/30/younger_id_card_voting/

        Lords investigate 'unconstitutional' surveillance society -
        Out-Law.com 30/4/07

The House of Lords will investigate whether the UK's "surveillance 
society" is unconstitutional. The Lords' Constitution Committee has 
asked for evidence in an investigation it has launched into surveillance 
in the UK.
http://www.out-law.com/page-8006

(Please send me any items of interest you encounter - 
Editor(newsletter at no2id.net) )
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Publication details: © NO2ID 2007 - 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 412, 19-21 Crawford Street, LONDON W1H 1PJ

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