Anti-leak guidelines…leaked!
Posted on Monday, December 8th, 2008 by Home Office WatchCategory: ID Cards
A confidential Home Office document has been leaked to a campaigner against ID cards - the subject of which is… how to prevent leaks.
Phil Booth of the NO2ID campaign received the document, which appeared to outline measures to stop employees of the five companies bidding for work on the ID cards scheme from leaking information about the project. It even seemed to suggest that police would not need a search warrant to enter the homes of employees.
The Times has the story:
“Jacqui Smith, the home secretary, has suffered fresh embarrassment from a new Whitehall leak disclosing that ministers are seeking new powers to search the homes of staff working on ID cards.
An 11-page confidential Home Office document – which was sent to a campaigner against ID cards – suggests that the employees’ homes could be entered without the need for a police warrant.
The latest disclosure comes amid the continuing political furore over the police raid on the House of Commons office of Damian Green, the Tory immigration spokesman accused of receiving leaked Home Office documents.
The measures outlined in the document appear to be designed to prevent the employees of five companies, all bidding for work on the ID cards scheme, from leaking damaging information about work on the national identity register.
This register is expected to contain the names, addresses and private information about tens of millions of Britons if it comes into operation as Labour plans in four years’ time.”
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December 8th, 2008 at 4:56 pm
Okay, that definitely needed leaking. Thanks for this, ID cards are an affront to all of us. Waste of money, intrusion and frankly the worst idea Labour have had in a string of them!
December 8th, 2008 at 4:57 pm
Why don’t the politicians offer to be the first in line for ID cards? Wouldnt it be perfect to keep unwanted types out of the house? Surely if they are safe, they have nothing to lose?
December 8th, 2008 at 5:12 pm
What do you expect form a government set to act in it’s own self interest and not in the interest of the electorate. Like the Credit Crunch they helped create it could come back to bite them as individuals. It can be a short step from Policing a state to a Police state.
December 8th, 2008 at 5:19 pm
As incredible as this is, I am sure this is just the start of the leaks and lost data.
This government are a joke. Lying to the electorate on issue of national improtance, increasing surveilance and the police state, and forcing ID cards onto the population are just a few of the reasons why we need, not just a new governement, but a complete change in direction.
The lib dems seem to be gaining some momentum here. I am delighted this incapable governement are assisting.
December 8th, 2008 at 5:47 pm
It is absolutely unacceptable that Police should be able to enter the homes of IT employees without a warrant. The employees may well be bound by company confidentiality in regard to their employer and the client (in this case the government) and any leakage of company confidential documents should be dealt with as a disciplinary procedure per the business conduct guidlines of the IT company.
Of course, BBC TV’s “Wallender” last night (7th December) showed us all how to lift a finger print and then use it in finger print scanner in order to authenticate access to a computer system - so now we all know how easy it is to fake an ID by biometric means. What a waste of money Id cards will be.
December 8th, 2008 at 6:04 pm
Leaking about ID cards, an expensive waste of our money, seems OK to me. Systematic leaking, as in “I’m a Conservative Get Me Out of Here”, seems totally unacceptable.
December 8th, 2008 at 6:32 pm
Why can’t this arrrogant, dispicable government see that this ID cardplan has fallen flat onto it’s very lucrative backside through sheer incompentence at Govt HQ…the Home Office has more leaks than the ill-fated Titanic, and to think they are continuing to press ahead against the wishes of so many millions, is frankly a disgrace.
Labour, hang your heads in shame.
December 8th, 2008 at 6:43 pm
If the present government plans to bring in identity cards in four years time, and the next General Election must be held before that,those who are against this project on the grounds it is an unwarranted invasion of privacy have the remedy– don’t vote in another Labour Government. The problem however may well be ‘whom shall we vote in then? Politicians of all parties cannot be trusted.’
December 8th, 2008 at 6:44 pm
Now why are we surprised that the useless Jacqui Smith has fouled up again. She should be shuffled out (along with the ill-thought-out ID cards) as soon as possible.
December 8th, 2008 at 7:37 pm
ID cards are a ridiculous idea. Are we hell bent on taking away all security and privacy away from the loyal people of this country.
I WILL NOT be forced in to having one. It’s ttime to make a stand against the many invasions of our Human Rights. (Terrorists or No Terrorists!!)
December 8th, 2008 at 7:38 pm
Dear Sirs
Funny how when the boot is on the other foot it is unacceptable. The whole scheme is a con and onlyu used to collate yet more information on us. Let the police raid their homes, nothing to fear nothing to hide comes to mind. So another home goal to go with lost memory sticks, data disks etc etc
December 8th, 2008 at 10:14 pm
Is the Labour government completely incapable of controlling information flow?
December 9th, 2008 at 9:35 am
Thats disgraceful, I never want an ID card, it won’t prevent anything, it seems its only going to take our privacy and freedom away.
December 14th, 2008 at 10:55 pm
The only secure way to hold data is to avoid humans altogether. It can’t be done.
The more data we gather together in one place, the larger the potential abuses. The more rules you put in place, the more time people will spend glossing over the detail of when they break them and the less time they will spend thinking.
Will the card prove I’m me? No. There will be dups all over that database and before you know it there’ll be a Tuttle/Buttle situation. (from the Terry Gilliam film Brazil, which was WAY ahead of its time on Identity Management).