Tony Blair faced a dual assault on the Government's proposals for ID cards yesterday, with leading academics and the official information watchdog condemning plans for a national identity database covering every individual in Britain. A 300-page report by staff at the London School of Economics made fundamental criticisms of the justification, technology and scope of the ID cards scheme. The report warned that it could pose a 'far greater risk to the safety and security of UK citizens' than any of the problems it is intended to address. In a second blow to the Government's proposals, Richard Thomas, the information commissioner, also strongly attacked plans for a national identity register as 'unwarranted and intrusive.' He said ID cards could be used to track people's lives and help create a 'surveillance society...

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/story.jsp?story=650197

from Independent [UK]


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp