Home > Report: Britain’s ID Card Plan May Fail

Report: Britain’s ID Card Plan May Fail

by Open-Publishing - Monday 17 July 2006

Democracy Digital-Technology UK

http://www.washingtontimes.com/upi/...

Report: Britain’s ID Card Plan May Fail
UPI
July 16, 2006 at 4:26PM

British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s identity card idea may not come to fruition for another generation, e-mails leaked from Whitehall say.

The Times of London said senior officials responsible for the multibillion-pound project believe that Blair’s program is set up to fail.

Blair’s ID card plan proposes that eventually all Britain’s 50 million adults will carry ID cards that will include biometric information, such as fingerprints and iris scans that could be checked against an enormous database. The cards are slated to be introduced voluntarily from 2008.

However, The Times reported that serious problems have occurred, forcing ministers to draw up a plan for a scaled down version to meet the 2008 target.

One official warns of a "botched operation" that could put back the introduction of ID cards for a generation. He added, "I conclude that we are setting ourselves up to fail."