Monthly Archives: May 2011


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Andy Carling writes in European newsletter “New Europe”: Kenneth Clarke, the famously pro-Europe Conservative, who has held many ministerial posts in his long career was in Brussels to say that he was “a strong proponent of data protection” and derided the previous Labour government as “authoritarian.” He told his audience at the British Chamber of Commerce that the British government was reversing three Blair policies; “the inclusion of over 1 million unconvicted people on the national DNA database,” the planned introduction of ID cards and the fingerprinting of children in schools without parental consent. But there were limits, especially on security issues. He said that he disagreed with the desires of the European Commission and some member states to restrict the sharing of Passenger Name Records (PNR) with the US and said that it made “no sense to collect information on flights to and from third countries without also collecting […]

UK Justice Minister says “Be safe, be free, be private”


Alan Travis writes in The Guardian: The personal data of millions of passengers who fly between the US and Europe, including credit card details, phone numbers and home addresses, may be stored by the US department of homeland security for 15 years, according to a draft agreement between Washington and Brussels leaked to the Guardian. The “restricted” draft, which emerged from negotiations between the US and EU, opens the way for passenger data provided to airlines on check-in to be analysed by US automated data-mining and profiling programmes in the name of fighting terrorism, crime and illegal migration. The Americans want to require airlines to supply passenger lists as near complete as possible 96 hours before takeoff, so names can be checked against terrorist and immigration watchlists. The agreement acknowledges that there will be occasions when people are delayed or prevented from flying because they are wrongly identified as a […]

US to store passenger data for 15 years


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Derek du Preez writes in Computing: Francis Maude, minister for the Cabinet Office, revealed last week that the coalition government plans to develop a national ID database to allow for easy access to online public services. It is not surprising that this database has been compared to the failed Labour ID card scheme and database, which was scrapped last year, but it seems that the coalition’s plans are different in scope and implementation. “It’s a bit different to carrying around an ID card at all times and having to show a policemen whenever he asks for it,” said Graham Titterington, analyst for Ovum. “The difference is that it is just being used for identity assurance for public services online, and the government isn’t planning to create a whole new database. It is going to piggy back on existing private-sector databases,” he added. Maude said that currently members of the public […]

Coalition plans to enlist private firms to speed ID authentication



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An article on the MSN web site reminds us that, as of today, DVLA and the Motor Insurance industry will be comparing databases: New rules come into force today (23 May) that require registered keepers of all cars to have continuous car insurance – or face penalties ranging from a fine to court prosecution. Those who own a car that is not insured must either take out insurance or declare it SORN with the DVLA, even if they never drive it. If they do not, the DVLA will discover them, through a link with the Motor Insurance Database. This detects uninsured cars: if there is no SORN declaration, action will automatically commence.

Continuous car insurance now law


Tim Ridgway, writing in the Brighton Argus, reports that ACPO Ltd has got involved in the battle over publishing ANPR camera locations: Police have pledged to fight a landmark ruling which could force officers to reveal the locations of their secret car-tracking cameras. Millions of number plates a year are read by automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras as officers keep tabs on criminals using the roads in Sussex. But the exact number, and their locations, has always been protected by the force with national experts saying releasing the information would damage investigations into organised crime – allowing offenders to know where they can drive without being detected. However an information ruling by one of the highest groups in the land could mean it has to reveal this data to all who request. Sussex Police is now working with the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo) to appeal the decision. […]

Sussex Police to fight ruling for it to reveal ‘secret’ ...


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Kelly Fiveash writes in The Register: Government departments will begin testing a first prototype of the Coalition’s new identity assurance model for its entire online public services space in October this year. Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude confirmed the plans in Parliament yesterday. As The Register reported last week, the government is already in early talks with “trusted private sector identity service providers” to develop the concept of ID assurance. Maude offered a broader outline about those plans on Wednesday, as the government continues to try and push all British citizens to access its services online. The first government services to test out the system include the Department for Work and Pensions’ universal credits, NHS HealthSpace and HMRC’s one click programmes, said the minister. Apparently: Maude said yesterday that his department would “draw on expertise” from organisations in the public and private sectors. He added that privacy advocates such as […]

Cabinet Office outlines gov-portal ‘ID assurance’ plans



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Alan Travis writes in The Guardian: The supreme court has declared that chief constables who refuse to delete the DNA profiles of more than 1 million innocent people on request are acting unlawfully. The ruling by the most senior judges in England and Wales says that the current police policy of indefinitely keeping DNA profiles of people arrested but never convicted is excessive and violates privacy rights. Chief constables have continued collecting the DNA profiles of everyone arrested, whether they are convicted or not, and keeping them indefinitely on a national database. This is despite a ruling by the European court of human rights more than three years ago that it was a breach of privacy rights. More than 200,000 new DNA profiles of innocent people have been added to the national police DNA database since the ruling that their blanket retention was unlawful in February 2008, bringing the total […]

Police breaking law by keeping DNA of the innocent, supreme ...


Leo King writes in Computerworld UK: The NHS National Programme for IT, which is now budgeted at £11.4 billion, has no chance of delivering value for money and has failed on all of its crucial elements. That is the verdict of a sharp report, compiled by the National Audit Office, that the prime minister has publicly insisted on assessing before any more deals are signed with suppliers. The report will be followed by Public Accounts Committee hearings and a Treasury report, which will also precede any signature. In an unprecedented statement, the Department of Health has now acknowledged that “the original vision was flawed”. Mr King notes: The NAO heavily criticised the Department of Health for failing to provide any benefits statement against which performance could be measured. In the main hospitals, the systems were “mainly providing administrative benefits, rather than clinical ones”, the NAO warned. They had failed to […]

Official: Failed NHS National IT programme has no chance of ...


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Sky News reports: The Government will need to revisit the issue of ID cards in order to control immigration, the chairwoman of an MPs committee has told Sky News. Labour’s Margaret Hodge added it was “pretty outrageous” that more than 180,000 people remain in the UK even though their work permits have expired. She made the comments amid the release of a report by the Commons’ Committee of Public Accounts, of which she is chairwoman. The MPs warn the UK Border Agency lacks the information needed to manage immigration effectively. Their report said a lack of exit controls was making it difficult to ensure migrant workers were leaving when they are supposed to. Some 181,000 people who should have left the UK may still be in the country, the agency estimates, but “it does not have the right information to know if this is an accurate estimate”. Mrs Hodge told […]

Immigration Woes ‘Must Prompt ID Card Review’



John Oates writes in The Register: The Coalition government has enthusiastically signed up to a draft European directive on exchange data on airline passengers, even though UK and European data watchdogs have already said the directive goes too far. Minister for Immigration Damian Green told the Commons yesterday that the UK was opting in to the directive on passenger name records. Green said: “Passenger name records help our law enforcement agencies to prevent, detect, investigate and prosecute terrorists and other serious criminals.” PNR data has routinely been handed to the US and this will now happen for flights within Europe too. But the draft directive has already been criticised by the European Data Protection Supervisor, which said the assessment had failed to show the necessity or the proportionality of a system which will collect data on all passengers.

Coalition signs up to passenger info slurp


According to the Plymouth Herald, police there will appeal against a ruling forcing them to reveal the locations of ANPR cameras: The locations of the cameras were requested under the Freedom of Information Act by Steven Mathieson, news editor at Guardian Government Computing, in July 2009. The force refused claiming the ANPR map would “be likely to prejudice the prevention of crime”. It also blocked the move after an internal review, a decision which was supported by the Information Commissioner. Mr Mathieson then appealed to the Information Rights Tribunal which last month found in his favour, ordering that the information be disclosed within 35 days. Its ruling said: “The tribunal considers that there was, overall, a weak case made by the additional party (Devon and Cornwall Police) as to why it thought that disclosure of the information sought would be likely to prejudice policing.” Devon and Cornwall Police confirmed they […]

Plymouth police fight bid to expose sites of 69 secret ...


Ellen Branagh writes in the Independent: Controversial surveillance cameras set up in two predominantly Muslim neighbourhoods will start to be removed today, police said. The 218 cameras, some of which were hidden, sparked anger from civil liberties campaigners and residents in Sparkbrook and Washwood Heath in Birmingham, where they were mainly erected. The number plate recognition and CCTV cameras were financed under a counter-terrorism initiative but were initially marketed to locals as a general crime-prevention measure. At a meeting of the West Midlands Police Authority in October, Chief Constable Chris Sims said the cameras should be pulled down in a bid to regain the trust of residents. The recommendation followed an independent report’s criticism of the scheme, dubbed Project Champion. However, a report from the BBC makes it clear that the cameras are in fact being moved to other locations: West Midlands Police said a decision had yet to be […]

Controversial surveillance cameras to be removed



Online IT journal UKAuthITy reports: The government has revealed the “hotspots” in the rapid expansion of devices that snap vehicle number plates. Statistics comparing the number of automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras in each area were revealed as a minister hailed the technology as a “huge move forward”, Mike Penning, transport minister, told MPs that the technology was helping the government wage war on the estimated 1.5 million people who drive without insurance. According to information from the National Policing Improvement Agency, released to MPs, the force areas with the most ANPR cameras are: London – 473 West Midlands – 388 Merseyside – 254 South Yorkshire – 247 Greater Manchester – 234 Just as the big cities topped the list, so rural areas have far fewer cameras, particularly: Norfolk -22 Cumbria – 28 Warwickshire – 29 Staffordshire – 35 Northumbria – 48 Each ANPR camera boasts an ability to […]

London tops the ANPR league, ministers reveal


Rob Evans and Paul Lewis write in The Guardian: An 86-year-old man has been granted permission to launch a lawsuit against police chiefs who have classified him as a “domestic extremist” and kept a detailed record of his political activities on a clandestine database. John Catt, who has no criminal record, is bringing the high court action against a secretive police unit which systematically logged his presence at more than 55 peace and human rights protests over a four-year period. Some of the entries record his habit of taking out his sketch pad and drawing the scene at demonstrations. Other entries contain notes on his appearance – such as “clean shaven” – and the slogans on his clothes. His lawsuit will challenge the power of police to compile secret files on law-abiding protesters. A victory for Catt, a pensioner who lives in Brighton, would be a further blow to the […]

Protester to sue police over secret surveillance