David Davis resigns - Campaign Video - A Hero is born.

As I said in my previous post:

It takes courage to stand on principle and put his political career at risk. I know this will cause some division in the party, but as far as I'm concerned David Davis has just announced that he will fight to protect my Liberty. He should receive the support of all free men and women.

Very well done David. You are my Hero!



All it takes for evil to flourish is for good men to do nothing.

ID Cards are to be delayed (snuck out).

Seeing as ID Cards are in the news again I thought it would be a good time to resurrect a post of mine from January. In the following post I write that the ID Card scheme has been put back to 2012. It turns out that it's more likely to be 2017. I have to agree with some observers when they say that what the government is now proposing looks like compulsion by stealth:

Apparently a document has been leaked to the Conservative Party which suggests that plans to issue ID Cards to UK citizens have been put back to 2012. Some suggest that this could be leading to the scrapping of the stupid scheme. Here are ten reasons why I think the scheme should be scrapped:

Following the incredible incompetence shown by the government in failing to protect our personal data, I have compiled a list of ten reasons to scrap the plans for I.D Cards:

1. The government cannot be trusted to protect our personal information. I think the seven million families who are closely watching their bank accounts would agree with that statement.

2. The proposed I.D Card will be EU compatible, meaning that all EU states will have access to the information held on our cards. Why worry about your personal data falling into the hands of criminals, when our own government are going to give it away to foreign states?

3. They threaten individual liberties. The Bill for I.D Cards allows 50 different pieces of your personal information to be put on your card. Why is so much information needed if the card is purely meant to prove your identity?

4. They will cost too much to implement. Current estimates stand at £5.6 billion. It was only announced in May that the cost had gone up from £4.9 billion to £5.3 billion, and now a mere six months later the cost stands at £5.6 billion. If in a years time the government announced that the cost had gone up again, would you be surprised? No, I didn't think so.

5. The direct cost to individuals (of a combined passport and ID card package) is quoted as £93. So even after £5.6 billion of our tax money has been spent on this scheme, you will still have to buy your own I.D Card. Great.

6. They will be open to fraud. We have all heard stories of people (in what should be positions of trust) selling identities to criminals. Will this scheme be any different?

7. The Treasury are not convinced about I.D Cards. Gordon Brown has called yet another review of the proposed ID. Card system. This follows other unpublished reviews carried out by the treasury. It is believed that those reviews were not published because they were highly critical of the system. The Guardian newspaper is trying to get the information released, but the government are fighting tooth and nail to keep the bad reports secret. (now released)

8. The Government introduced paper ID cards during WW2, it was planned for the information to be used for 3 purposes. To Identity you to the police, to use for food rationing and to receive medical care. When it was abolished in 1952 it was found government was using that information for 157 different purposes. (Ref Ian Parker of the PJC Journal)

9. Not all biometrics will work for all people. Plenty are missing digits, or eyes, or have physical conditions that render one or more biometrics unstable or hard to read. All systems have error. Deployment on a vast scale, with variably trained operators and variably maintained and calibrated equipment, will produce vast numbers of mismatches, leading to potentially gross inconvenience to millions. (Ref NO 2 ID)

10. I repeat: The government cannot be trusted to protect our personal information.

"It is true that liberty is precious; so precious that it must be carefully rationed." Lenin.

ID Cards are to be delayed: Ten reasons to scrap them.

Apparently a document has been leaked to the Conservative Party which suggests that plans to issue ID Cards to UK citizens have been put back to 2012. Some suggest that this could be leading to the scrapping of the stupid scheme. Here are ten reasons why I think the scheme should be scrapped:

Following the incredible incompetence shown by the government in failing to protect our personal data, I have compiled a list of ten reasons to scrap the plans for I.D Cards:

1. The government cannot be trusted to protect our personal information. I think the seven million families who are closely watching their bank accounts would agree with that statement.

2. The proposed I.D Card will be EU compatible, meaning that all EU states will have access to the information held on our cards. Why worry about your personal data falling into the hands of criminals, when our own government are going to give it away to foreign states?

3. They threaten individual liberties. The Bill for I.D Cards allows 50 different pieces of your personal information to be put on your card. Why is so much information needed if the card is purely meant to prove your identity?

4. They will cost too much to implement. Current estimates stand at £5.6 billion. It was only announced in May that the cost had gone up from £4.9 billion to £5.3 billion, and now a mere six months later the cost stands at £5.6 billion. If in a years time the government announced that the cost had gone up again, would you be surprised? No, I didn't think so.

5. The direct cost to individuals (of a combined passport and ID card package) is quoted as £93. So even after £5.6 billion of our tax money has been spent on this scheme, you will still have to buy your own I.D Card. Great.

6. They will be open to fraud. We have all heard stories of people (in what should be positions of trust) selling identities to criminals. Will this scheme be any different?

7. The Treasury are not convinced about I.D Cards. Gordon Brown has called yet another review of the proposed ID. Card system. This follows other unpublished reviews carried out by the treasury. It is believed that those reviews were not published because they were highly critical of the system. The Guardian newspaper is trying to get the information released, but the government are fighting tooth and nail to keep the bad reports secret.

8. The Government introduced paper ID cards during WW2, it was planned for the information to be used for 3 purposes. To Identity you to the police, to use for food rationing and to receive medical care. When it was abolished in 1952 it was found government was using that information for 157 different purposes. (Ref Ian Parker of the PJC Journal)

9. Not all biometrics will work for all people. Plenty are missing digits, or eyes, or have physical conditions that render one or more biometrics unstable or hard to read. All systems have error. Deployment on a vast scale, with variably trained operators and variably maintained and calibrated equipment, will produce vast numbers of mismatches, leading to potentially gross inconvenience to millions. (Ref NO 2 ID)

10. I repeat: The government cannot be trusted to protect our personal information.

"It is true that liberty is precious; so precious that it must be carefully rationed." Lenin.

DNA database balls-up - 13.7% of the people on it, don't exist.

Did you know that one in ten of the adult population of England and Wales are now on the DNA database? There are approximately 43m adults and there are 4,523,154 on the DNA database. Now, this is a little strange seeing as only 3,903,482 individuals have had DNA samples taken. The reason for this massive 13.7% discrepancy? Well it seems that one reason for this is that the person being arrested gave different names, or different versions of their name, on separate arrests.

Now this looks to me as if the police have taken DNA samples from people without bothering to find out their true identity - or once they have found out their true identity the arresting officer has failed to update the DNA database. Meaning there are 619,672 individuals on the DNA database that do not exist.

And Gordon Brown wants us to believe that his government can run the even larger ID Card database?

Ten reasons to scrap the plans for I.D Cards.

Following the incredible incompetence shown by the government in failing to protect our personal data, I have compiled a list of ten reasons to scrap the plans for I.D Cards:

1. The government cannot be trusted to protect our personal information. I think the seven million families who are closely watching their bank accounts would agree with that statement.

2. The proposed I.D Card will be EU compatible, meaning that all EU states will have access to the information held on our cards. Why worry about your personal data falling into the hands of criminals, when our own government are going to give it away to foreign states?

3. They threaten individual liberties. The Bill for I.D Cards allows 50 different pieces of your personal information to be put on your card. Why is so much information needed if the card is purely meant to prove your identity?

4. They will cost too much to implement. Current estimates stand at £5.6 billion. It was only announced in May that the cost had gone up from £4.9 billion to £5.3 billion, and now a mere six months later the cost stands at £5.6 billion. If in a years time the government announced that the cost had gone up again, would you be surprised? No, I didn't think so.

5. The direct cost to individuals (of a combined passport and ID card package) is quoted as £93. So even after £5.6 billion of our tax money has been spent on this scheme, you will still have to buy your own I.D Card. Great.

6. They will be open to fraud. We have all heard stories of people (in what should be positions of trust) selling identities to criminals. Will this scheme be any different?

7. The Treasury are not convinced about I.D Cards. Gordon Brown has called yet another review of the proposed ID. Card system. This follows other unpublished reviews carried out by the treasury. It is believed that those reviews were not published because they were highly critical of the system. The Guardian newspaper is trying to get the information released, but the government are fighting tooth and nail to keep the bad reports secret.

8. The Government introduced paper ID cards during WW2, it was planned for the information to be used for 3 purposes. To Identity you to the police, to use for food rationing and to receive medical care. When it was abolished in 1952 it was found government was using that information for 157 different purposes. (Ref Ian Parker of the PJC Journal)

9. Not all biometrics will work for all people. Plenty are missing digits, or eyes, or have physical conditions that render one or more biometrics unstable or hard to read. All systems have error. Deployment on a vast scale, with variably trained operators and variably maintained and calibrated equipment, will produce vast numbers of mismatches, leading to potentially gross inconvenience to millions. (Ref NO 2 ID)

10. I repeat: The government cannot be trusted to protect our personal information.

"It is true that liberty is precious; so precious that it must be carefully rationed." Lenin.

Is LibDem mayoral hopeful Brian Paddick a victim of gun crime?

LibDem mayoral hopeful Brian Paddick has not been very complimentary of his former boss Sir Ian Blair. In a Daily Telegraph interview, the former deputy assistant police commissioner claimed that commissioner Blair is far too palsy-walsy with Gordon Brown's government. Brian is not pulling his punches, saying: "If there's a perception that their chief is aligned to a political party that undermines the rank and file officers. "His position is unsustainable. I think he should resign." Wow, Sir Ian should have taken notice of the famous quote by Jimmy Durante: "Be nice to people on your way up because you meet them on your way down."

Brian also believes that Blair is wrong to support Labour's proposals for ID cards and increasing the 28-day detention period. He claims that he felt pressured into backing Tony Blair's failed attempt to introduce a 90-day detention limit: "His [Sir Ian Blair's] office said 'you are a deputy assistant commissioner in the Metropolitan Police and as such you will support 90 days'. It felt as if I had a gun to my head."

So much for an independent, non-political police force then? The only problem is that if Blair is righteously given the boot, we will probably see another one of Brown's mates step into his vacant size 10s. This really should be the final nail in Sir Ian's police career. If former senior police officers who worked under Blair are accusing him of being political biased, then he should hang up his truncheon.

The hidden truth behind Gordon Brown's ID Cards.

Gordon Brown has called yet another review of the proposed ID. Card system. This follows other unpublished reviews carried out by the treasury. It is believed that those reviews were not published because they were highly critical of the system. The Guardian newspaper is trying to get the information released, but the government are fighting tooth and nail to keep the bad reports secret.

Another review will just be a waste of money. If the government's own reviews have rubbished the scheme, why keep throwing money at it?

It will be disastrous if the government go ahead with this doomed scheme, just to avoid the humiliation of yet another U-turn.

Gordon, stop wasting our money and scrap this money pit now.

Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

EU states are to have access to our DNA Database (UK Judge UPDATE).

EU states have agreed to incorporate into EU Law, a system which will allow its members to view DNA, fingerprint and car registration data of criminal suspects. There is one glaring problem with this system: There are over one million British citizens on that DNA database who have never been convicted of any crime.

Professor Bob Hepple QC, chairman of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics has asked whether people not convicted of crime should have their details stored on the national (now to be EU) DNA database. Prof Hepple said the main question was whether the UK would "become instead of a nation of citizens, a nation of suspects".

Professor Alec Jeffreys the inventor of DNA fingerprinting has voiced concerns that his invention is not being used in the interest of the public. Along with civil liberties groups, Professor Jeffreys believes that innocent people should have their details removed from the DNA database.

Unsurprisingly the Home Office Minister, Joan Ryan, has welcomed the agreement. However, Conservative MEP Syed Kamall, has, in my opinion rightly said: “In forcing it through, the Germans have ignored the views of the European Parliament and the concerns of the EU data protection chief. We are sleepwalking into a Big Brother Europe while our government stands idly by."

This system was incorporated into EU law without any consultation of our Parliament or the European Parliament. Do you remember giving your consent to share our country’s confidential data with foreign Governments? No, I didn’t think you would.

Not only will the new ID Card enable foreign Governments to view our personal details, now they have access to many of our innocent citizen’s DNA and fingerprints.

UPDATE: Lord Justice Sedley is calling for compulsory DNA testing of all UK residents and visitors. Lord Sedley said: "everybody, guilty or innocent, should expect their DNA to be on file for the absolutely rigorously restricted purpose of crime detection and prevention." And that the current system was "indefensible." In a government statement, they made it clear that there are no plans to make it compulsory for everyone to be on the national DNA database. However there was no mention of stopping the rest of the EU having access to our DNA database.

Nick Clegg, Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman, could think of "no earthly reason" why innocent people should be on the database - "yet the government is shoving thousands of innocent people's DNA details on to the database every month." Bloody Hell! I've found something a Liberal has said that I can agree with.

David Cameron - Comes Out Fighting At Last.

Last week I wrote the following post:

David Cameron - Wake up! there is a war on you know.

The first paragraph of the BBC News 24's article on John Redwood's proposal to save £14bn by cutting Red Tape reads: Tory leader David Cameron is looking at plans to cut £14bn in red tape and regulation for UK businesses. Sounds good so far? Unfortunately the article goes on to rubbish the proposal with comments from Labour Cabinet Minister Andy Burnham, Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman Vince Cable and a spokesman for the TUC. They even said the Confederation of British Industry only cautiously welcomed the proposals.

This is strange. I'm sure that these are good proposals. We are as a nation constantly complaining of Red Tape, ridiculous health and safety regimes and I'm damn sure we would like to see the back of the poorly thought out HIPs scheme. The proposal also said it would look into the working time regulations. Why then, are these proposals being portrayed as something that would be bad for the country? We could save businesses £14bn and cut through all that rubbish that infuriates us and complicates our work.

The answer is that Labour are making a better job of manipulating the media. The Conservatives have had several opportunities to criticise Labour since Brown came into power, but they have failed to drive the criticism home. Floods, Foot and Mouth, and employing very unfriendly medical professionals who were turned down in Australia for not meeting the required standard. Brown has made massive cock-ups in the past: pensions and gold sales are two beauties. The man should be unpopular with the public but according to the media he is turning into some kind of people's hero.

We need to stop playing the nice guy and use the media to its full potential. I don't mean spin and I don't mean dirty tricks, there is no need when Labour are already handing us all the ammunition we need. It's time to attack. We have missed some real opportunities to make the public realise how poor Labour are at running this country. If an October election is called, it's going to be touch and go whether we can make the public realise that a Conservative government is the best and only option. We cannot afford to let Labour off the hook anymore.

A few days earlier I wrote this:

ID Cards or Hospitals - Take your pick.

Five firms are going to be selected to provide the computer equipment and deal with the issuing of the proposed ID Cards. For one thing this scheme is going to cost £5.3bn and I think I would prefer to see my local hospital not shut down to save money. The thing about my hospital (Haslar) is it is also the last military hospital in this country and I'm not too sure, but with our servicemen and women being flown home with horrific injuries, I think It could be quite handy. Oh and by the way, the buses that used to run from my town to the hospital that we now have to use have been scrapped to - yes you guessed it - save money.

The other thing about the scheme, is that seeing as this is all about security, why are five firms going to be involved in supplying the ID Card system? How much access will each of these firms have to the information held on the cards and how is the security of that information going to be protected by the government? Surely one firm with one total solution would be easier to regulate and monitor by the government.

One more thing is that I am not at all happy that this card is going to be a European ID Card and that foreign governments will have access to the information contained on my card. A lot of people do not want the ID Card and a lot do want it. But given the choice between ID Cards or your A&E or Maternity unit staying open, which would you choose?

£5.3bn and counting. You just know it's going to be more.

Having returned from his holiday, David Cameron has at last started a decent attack on Labour policy and we should now see an end to the unfathomable Brown bounce. David said: "They want to see their district general hospital improved and people simply do not understand why maternity units and accident and emergency units are being shut down - when actually accident and emergency admissions are actually up and births are up."

On the fight against crime, Mr Cameron said lawbreakers should face: "tough penalties" but that punishment was "not enough". He went on to say: "We are not going to deal with anarchy in the UK unless you actually strengthen families and communities in the UK." And that the tax and benefit system should encourage families: "to come together and stay together rather than driving people apart". David pointed out that all the problems now facing the country can be traced back to Gordon Brown "sitting at his desk in Number 11 Downing St as chancellor".

It's a start, let's keep the momentum up.

ID Cards or Hospitals - Take your pick.

Five firms are going to be selected to provide the computer equipment and deal with the issuing of the proposed ID Cards. For one thing this scheme is going to cost £5.3bn and I think I would prefer to see my local hospital not shut down to save money. The thing about my hospital (Haslar) is it is also the last military hospital in this country and I'm not too sure, but with our servicemen and women being flown home with horrific injuries, I think It could be quite handy. Oh and by the way, the buses that used to run from my town to the hospital that we now have to use have been scrapped to - yes you guessed it - save money.

The other thing about the scheme, is that seeing as this is all about security, why are five firms going to be involved in supplying the ID Card system? How much access will each of these firms have to the information held on the cards and how is the security of that information going to be protected by the government? Surely one firm with one total solution would be easier to regulate and monitor by the government.

One more thing is that I am not at all happy that this card is going to be a European ID Card and that foreign governments will have access to the information contained on my card. A lot of people do not want the ID Card and a lot do want it. But given the choice between ID Cards or your A&E or Maternity unit staying open, which would you choose?

£5.3bn and counting. You just know it's going to be more.

Shameless bragging - comment is free

OK some shameless bragging. I'm sorry but nothing like this has happened in the last six months that I've been running this blog. I've made it onto the Comment is free "best of the Web" list. I'm alongside articles from the Huffington post and the Times online. How my post got selected I've no Idea, but am I chuffed? - you bet I am.

Now is your chance to rain on my parade.....

UK Politics

ID Card cost increase is buried as Blair announces departure

The cost of the ID card scheme has gone up by £400m to £5.31bn. The opposition claims that the government was "burying bad news", releasing the figure as Tony Blair announced his departure.

The Home Office say the increase was due to staff and anti-fraud expenditure.

The Home Office must give an update on the costs of the scheme twice a year. The latest update, due on 9 April was announced today amid claims that the Home Office broke the law by delaying the announcement.

The Home Office said it had released the figures "as soon as we possibly could" and that the release of the figures on the same day as Mr Blair's departure announcement had been coincidental.

Shadow Home Secretary David Davis said: "The public will see through this transparent and pathetic attempt to bury bad news. It is also no surprise the government has had to revise their cost estimate up by so much. The public should brace themselves for more increases every time this estimate is updated."

Liberty Director Shami Chakrabarti said: "The soaring costs and declining support for the grand ID card folly are increasingly inescapable. Surely this dangerous and expensive idea must leave Number 10 with its author?"

Phil Booth, of NO2ID said: "With each new analysis, the cost of the ID card scheme spirals."

ID cards will become compulsory in 2010 when all passport applicants will be issued with ID cards.

How can a supposedly democratic government force upon us an ID card scheme that many of the population are against. Adding insult to injury they are using our tax money to fund an ID Card Scheme which we will be asked to pay for again later.

Daily Referendum Results - Should we have a European ID Card?

Q. Should we have a European ID Card?

YES 7%

NO 87%

DO NOT KNOW 6%

To view the results of the 108 Daily Referendums held on this site click HERE

These result are archived by the British Library

The Electronic Berlin Wall

Over at the PJC Journal, Ian Parker has some disturbing news about the restrictions that will be placed upon your liberty, if you refuse to take part in the new ID card system.

You can read Ian's article HERE

Should we have a European ID Card?

The European Commission is in discussion with all the EU member states on how to join up their data collection and sharing schemes across Europe. The EU say that the proposed eID system is expected to help reduce the administrative burden on mobile workers and travellers in the EU. It will also simplify cross border business transactions, company registrations, or payment of tax obligations for small businesses.

The following conference has been organised by EEMA (the independent European association for e-business) and is hosted by Cyber trust (The Global Information Security Specialist):

European e-ID Card Conference :

“Current Perspective and Initiatives from around Europe in government and business” 8/9th March 2007
Leuven Ubicenter - Philipssite 5 - 3001 Leuven, Belgium

The following is taken from the conference agenda:

Electronic identities are fundamental for secure access to and convenient use of eGovernment services in Europe. A number of Member States have introduced electronic ID card (e-ID) schemes, whilst others are in various stages of implementation and planning. In order to prevent these developments from creating new digital barriers across borders, a set of minimum requirements and common standards must be agreed to enable European e-ID solutions to interoperate. This conference will bring together the key players in this market to review the issues and challenges facing government industry and review the possible solutions.

The full conference agenda can be seen HERE.

There has been some objection to the proposed eID system, Ian Parker of the PJC Journal has posted the following about the subject on his blog:

So you thought that by giving the government all your personal details it would be to stop terrorists blowing up trains, or to stop immigrants claiming benefits, and the government tell us that our personal data will be safe in their hands. Then why are they going to give it all to the unelected EUROPEAN COMMISSION.
The Government introduced paper ID cards during WW2, it was planned for the information to be used for 3 purposes. To Identity you to the police, to use for food rationing and to receive medical care. When it was abolished in 1952 it was found government was using that information for 157 different purposes.
Our government is already giving our personal details to the Americans, they are currently passing laws to give it to companies and the BBC, and now they are going to give it all to Europe. We have consistently advised readers of this blog that data collection and data sharing is not a good thing for the population of Britain. Why would the EU want your finger prints, your DNA, your medical records, your tax records, your bank account details, details of who you are and how you link to other members of your family, in fact all the information that would be on your passport and ID card, if you never go to Europe.

You can read Ian’s full post HERE.

Gareth Young (Better known to many as the Little Man in a Toque) told the Daily Referendum:

First let us establish ownership. I own my identity. I claim exclusive cultural, biological, and intellectual rights to it. If I must relinquish exclusivity over certain pertinent and relevant details of my identity in order for the government to establish that I am eligible for NHS treatment, driver’s licence, a passport, etc., then I am happy to do so. But that’s as far as I am likely to go.
I strongly object to my details - whether taken with my consent or harvested - being passed to foreign governments. For all the difference it will make to the control that I have over ownership of my identity, I might as well just hand over all my details to a Nigerian gang or the Russian Mafia.

Q. Should we have an English Parliament?

To vote go to:

http://dailyreferendum.co.uk/ (These result are archived by the British Library)