In a new twist on the National Lottery, Jacqui Smith announced earlier this month that the Home Office would be approaching outlets such as supermarkets and Post Offices to help issue ID Cards.

Guy Herbert, from No2ID said: “It sounds like a mad fantasy of setting up something like a Photo-Me kiosk to collect fingerprints. Leaving aside the technical and security issues, both would be risky from the point of view of the reputation of the organisations involved, and financially terrifying.”

Today, znet.co.uk reports that the public have rejected such a scheme:

“Only 25 percent of more than 2,000 people questioned for the government’s Central Office of Information would consider having their fingerprints, photo and signature recorded for an ID card in a supermarket, according to research commissioned by the Identity and Passport Service (IPS). This increased to just 26 percent for a petrol station, 28 percent for a department store and 29 percent for a local shop.”

Liberal Democrat Home Affairs spokesperson Tom Brake said:

“Signing up for an ID card isn’t like buying a lottery ticket. It’s clear ministers are desperate to find any means to get people to sign up for an ID card. This is just their latest half-baked attempt.”

Jacqui Smith wants to make signing up for an ID card as convenient as buying a scratchcard - but the odds of the Government “redistributing” your private information must be significantly better than winning the jackpot!