by Jason Beattie

This Is London

08/16/04

Government plans for compulsory identity cards have been criticised by Britain's information watchdog. Richard Thomas, the information commissioner, said the country was in danger of 'sleepwalking into a surveillance society.' He singled out David Blunkett's plans for ID cards and separate proposals to set up a population register and a database of every child under 18. Mr Thomas compared the expansion of Government information gathering to the snooping of the secret police in former Soviet bloc countries...

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Informant: Thomas L. Knapp